Yusuke Urameshi and the Order of the Phoenix
by The Wolfman89
Summary: Yusuke is sent to another country on a case. When he steps into an old man's fight with a group of demons it sets off a chain of events that wind him up in the last place he wants to be: School, even if its a magic school...Rated for safety.
1. The New Mission

_**IMPORTANT PRE-FIC NOTE:**_ Ok, so here it is, you should know you **do not** have to read the fic that this is the sequel to in order to understand this one; I'm writing it like that on purpose. Rated for language, violence, and implied sexuality. NON-YAOI. Post-Sensui. I have a brief summary of it at the beginnning here just cuz I'm such a nice guy. (Prequel is named Recovering Hearts).

* * *

Yusuke was enjoying a spar with Kuwabara while his two other teammates and his new girlfriend watched. Yusuke hadn't been able to spar like this lately; he had just come back to his friends a few days before. The fact that he had been missing was linked to this new girlfriend. When Yusuke had met her, she seemed completely normal. She was beautiful, smart, and caring. Her name was Kagome Higurashi. A few weeks into this relationship and Yusuke had accidentally discovered that she had as big a secret as him. He had traveled to the past and met her companions. With his help they had defeated their greatest enemy, though the jewel that had become a secondary objective had shattered and now had to be gathered again. After celebrating their victory, Yusuke and Kagome had returned to the present; only to find that Yusuke's team needed help. Yusuke rushed to the scene and joined the battle against a horde of demons. He was almost overcome, but Kagome had shown up with Inuyasha, the only one of her companions from the past that could cross over to this time, and the tide of battle had turned. In the aftermath of that battle, Yusuke and Kagome had taken their relationship to new heights, and then gone to inform the powers that be of what had been happening. It had caused quite a commotion when Spirit World's top Detective had gone missing for over two months.

"Grr...You got lucky that time, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled, brandishing his Spirit Sword.

"Yeah, yeah, wanna go again?" Yusuke asked, pointing his own sword (which he had acquired in the feudal era) forward. Kuwabara had been a much better swordsman than he had anticipated, and it was difficult for him to win. They prepared for the seventh round. They were charging at each other when some one else appeared.

"Yusuke! Koenma wants to see you!" Botan yelled as she flew in closer.

"Tell him I'm busy." Yusuke said, barely deflecting one of Kuwabara's attacks.

"Urgent." Botan said. Her usual cheery manner was absent; this had to be really important.

"Fine. Kuwabara, let's call it a tie."

"No way! You forfeit." Kuwabara said, thinking himself triumphant before a flurry of punches knocked him to the ground.

"I win; now what's pacifier breath want?" Yusuke asked Botan.

"I don't know, Yusuke. All he told me was to bring you to him immediately."

Kagome had run closer so she could here. Yusuke kissed her quickly and whispered "I'm sorry, baby, I gotta go. I'll be back later." Kagome nodded. Yusuke climbed onto Botan's oar.

"Ok, go quick; I wanna be back as soon as possible." Yusuke said. Botan took off at top speed.

They arrived in Spirit World in a matter of minutes.

"Ok, what do you want, diaper boy?" Yusuke asked loudly before the door to Koenma's office was even open.

"I'll ignore that this time." Koenma said after Yusuke had entered. Yusuke was going to absolutely hate this...

"Whatever; make it quick, I got stuff to do." He said.

"You remember the demons that crossed over a few days ago?" Koenma asked.

"Even I'm not that dumb."

"Very well...we may know something more."

"Get to the point."

"Normally it's impossible for demons stronger then the B-Class to travel to the human world, it is also nearly impossible for that large of a number of demons to cross over at once."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it all with Sensui."

"Exactly. Yusuke, we want you to go on an observation mission for us."

"Isn't that more Kurama or Hiei's deal?"

"We need a human, we can't risk a psychic or...something else sensing what they are and attacking them."

"Where the hell are you sending me?" Yusuke sighed in defeat.

"London, England."

"Screw that!"

"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice in the matter. Normally, demons don't show up outside Japan when they come to human world; we don't know why. However, there has been a recent increase in demon activity in parts of London. We want you to see if you can find the cause. Knowing that you are unable to speak English, we have decided to make this a short term investigation until a demon hurts someone. You will only be in England for twenty-four hours."

"So I get to wander around a foreign country looking for shit?"

"Yes, Yusuke."

"Fine, when the hell do I leave?"

"Now."

"You know I hate you, right? Whatever, someone tell Kagome."

"Botan, could you please esco-?" Koenma was cut off by a very exhausted-looking ferry girl.

"Lady Botan! We need your help; there was just a one hundred car pile-up. We need your help with all the souls..." Said the ferry girl as she dragged Botan with her.

"GAHH! FINE! OGRE, HAVE A PORTAL OPENED TO LONDON!" Koenma yelled. The ogres escorted Yusuke into a different room and opened a portal.

"Just step right through, Mr. Urameshi."

_"Mister? I'm only fourteen...No wait! I'm fifteen, I missed my birthday! DAMN IT!"_ Yusuke thought. His birthday just happened to have been the day he arrived back in the present. He stepped through the portal.

He was standing in an alley, the street signs telling him he was between a street called Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk (this was of course complete gibberish to Yusuke, who could not read, speak, or write English). One look around told him one thing: this _wasn't_ London. He may not have been the brightest person in the world, but he wasn't brain dead; he knew that London was a big city. He seemed to be in the suburbs. Extremely irritated, Yusuke pulled out his communicator and contacted Koenma.

"YOU SENT ME TO THE WRONG DAMN PLACE!" He screamed at Koenma.

"Yes, we...uh...realized that after we sent you, but you aren't far, just make your way to London from there."

"Toddlerrrrr..." Yusuke growled angrily as Koenma cut off the communication. He began walking in a random direction. He knew he would look very out of place because his hair was currently down to the back of his knees (he had agreed to keep it like this for Kagome for a short time). Well, at least he had left his sword at Genkai's temple. He found nothing for quite some time. He saw a boy sitting on a swing in a closed park, and considered asking him for directions before remembering the language barrier; the boy seemed deep in thought anyway...Yusuke wondered who had broken all the other swings, even he had never been that big a jerk. He had always stuck to vandalizing the school.

He hadn't been walking too much longer when he heard a voice say something in English.

"Check out the long-haired freak!" The voice said. Yusuke hadn't understood a word of it, but he could tell some one was insulting him from the tone. Yusuke turned to see the source of the voice with a threatening look on his face. Five large boys on new-looking racing bikes were heading towards him.

"He looks foreign..." One of them said when they were closer.

"He probably doesn't even speak English!" Another laughed.

"Piss off." Yusuke said in Japanese. He could tell they were taunting him.

"He doesn't! We found a Chinaman." One of them yelled jubilantly, who was judging by the accent and sound of the words.

"We could take his money and he couldn't even report us." Said another mischievously.

"What should we do, Big-D?"

"Let's do it, I want the biggest cut!" Said the largest one. They advanced; Yusuke gave a cocky grin, judging by their formation the blonde one was the leader. He'd won fights with much worse odds then this _before_ he'd gotten his spirit powers. Well, he'd just been getting bored anyway...

Moments later, they were running as fast as they could in the opposite direction, and Yusuke hadn't used any power. He'd beaten the five down on his own strength, only one of them had hit him, and he hadn't even noticed. Yusuke walked on.

It was another half an hour before Yusuke thought to contact Koenma again and ask which direction to go in. He moved quickly, a strange wave of cold had just passed over him and then just as quickly gone away. He moved in the direction Koenma had told him. He probably wouldn't get there until fairly late.

It was late at night; most people had left the streets. Except an old man, who was trying to clear his head, his favorite student had done something illegal a few hours ago, and was nearly expelled. He had managed to convince those that had attempted to expel him that they did not have the authority to do so, for this moment there was a slight respite, but there was work to be done soon. The old man walked the dark streets, trying to clear his mind. He turned down a completely deserted street; he had a sudden feeling of unease...

Yusuke was somewhere in London when he felt a demon energy flare up. No, it was more then one; it was at least three or four. He raced to the scene.

The old man's feeling of unease increased. He placed his hand in his pocket just in case he needed to react quickly.

Yusuke was getting closer, just a few more blocks...

The old man stopped. He saw four creatures in front of him. He had never seen anything like these in reality, only in paintings, gruesome ones that depicted the end of the world and Hell.

"The Dark Lord wishes you dead, and he has sent us to achieve that end. Goodbye." The old man prepared for battle.

"OUT OF THE WAY, OLD MAN!" Yusuke yelled in Japanese, forgetting the language barrier again. He jumped clear over the old man's head (his foot knocking his pointy hat off) and landed in front of the demons.

"SHOTGUN!" Yusuke cried, blasting the three demons in front of him into oblivion. Three?

"This kill will make me famous!" said the demon that had managed to get behind Yusuke. Yusuke turned around to see the demon turn into stone and crumble. The old man was pointing a stick at where the demon had been.

"Who are you? How'd you do that?" Yusuke asked instantly.

"I might ask you the same question." The man said in perfect Japanese. Yusuke was about to swear when the old man continued "However, seeing as how you asked me first, it would be terribly rude of me to _not_ introduce myself. My name is Albus Dumbledore, I am Headmaster of Hogwarts." There was no reason to hide the fact from this boy with strange powers, who had just saved him from even stranger creatures. Strangely, Yusuke gave a somewhat satisfactory answer. "Yusuke Urameshi, Spirit Detective." Yusuke had seen so many things since becoming a Spirit Detective that the idea of a few people in every country having powers wasn't a crazy concept.

"May I ask what a foreigner such as yourself is doing in London?"

"Cleaning up." Yusuke said, gesturing towards the remains of the demons. Dumbledore looked into Yusuke's eyes, Yusuke suddenly felt as if he was being x-rayed; it was alot like what it felt like whenever Hiei read his mind. The feeling gave him the creeps. He wished he could build mental barriers like the other members of his team. Well, if this guy was going to examine his mind Yusuke thought he should even the score and find out just how powerful this old man was.

The first thing Yusuke noticed was that this energy was unlike any he had ever felt before. The second was that this old man had immense amounts of that energy. In terms of power he was on even footing with Yusuke (though Yusuke's abilities gave him a slight edge in case combat broke out).

"Good bye, Yusuke Urameshi, Spirit Detective. I have a feeling that we will meet again soon." The old man said before walking off. Dumbledore was already formulating a plan for how and when that meeting would take place. Yusuke tried to follow him, but as soon as he rounded the corner, Dumbledore was gone.

"What the hell?" Yusuke said out loud. He called to report to Koenma.

"Yes, Yusuke?"

"I found some demons; they were attacking an old guy. I dealt with them."

"And the old man?"

"He took care of one of them."

"WHAT?"

"That's what I thought. He turned the damn thing into stone and then it fell apart. He was holding a stick."

Koenma looked troubled. Had Yusuke already run into wizards? Were the wizards involved?

"Hmm...Keep searching. We'll send Botan to get you in a few hours."

Yusuke searched until around noon the next day; he found absolutely no traces of any other demons; though he did feel alot more blips of the energy the old man had been giving off (none comparing to his power). His communicator went off.

"Yusuke, meet me in the alley to your left." Botan said. Yusuke obeyed, eager to get home.

"Ok, let's get the hell outta here." Yusuke said, climbing on her oar.

"Have you found anything new?"

"No, just little bits of some weird energy; not demon, but I have no fricken idea what it is."

"Hmm...Well, we'll look into that." Botan said. She knew what Yusuke had been sensing, even if he hadn't. The reason he'd never felt it before was because Japanese wizards avoided major population centers.

After a quick debriefing, Yusuke returned to Japan. It was night time (does anyone know the time difference? I'd like to know). Yusuke went home; his mom was passed out drunk on the floor. He decided he'd just call Kagome tomorrow; he was too tired at the moment.

He was woken up the next morning by the phone ringing; deciding that his mom wouldn't answer it and that he couldn't ignore it, he rolled out of bed and answered.

"Hello?" He said sleepily.

"Ok, just checking to see where you were." Kagome's voice answered.

"Didn't they tell you where I went?"

"No."

"Morons. I told them to."

"I'm sorry, were you sleeping?"

"Nah." Yusuke lied; it was much easier to lie to her if she couldn't see his face.

"Ok..." She couldn't tell if he was being honest, but it didn't really matter.

Yusuke spent the day with her. He'd see the team later. The next few days passed without any news from Koenma, or any other incident until Yusuke's mom kicked him out again.

"And don't come back without booze!" She said, just as she always did when kicking him out, but she'd have forgotten this in the morning. Yusuke had other places to stay anyway. It was around ten o'clock at night. Yusuke made his way to what would be his refuge that night.

_Knock, Knock._

Kagome's mother answered the door. She looked slightly surprised.

"This is rather late for a visit." She said, she did not say it meanly; she was just caught off-guard.

"Yeah...sorry..." Yusuke said, "Mind if I crash here tonight?" He didn't feel awkward about asking, Ms. Higurashi had already made it plain that she had no problem with the happy couple sharing a bed (as long as that was _all_ they did under her roof).

"Certainly, dear." She said, allowing him access. He took off his shoes and entered.

"Kagome is upstairs getting ready for bed, so make sure you knock first."

"Ok, thanks." Yusuke said. He walked upstairs. Even though it made no difference at this point in the relationship; Yusuke knocked.

"Come in." Kagome's voice answered. Yusuke walked in. Kagome had her back to him.

"Hey." He said, trying to surprise her, and succeeding.

"Yusuke! What are you doing here?" She asked him, a touch of happiness under the surprise.

"Mom kicked me out, so I thought I'd crash here." He said; a smirk on his lips. Kagome didn't ask why, she knew Yusuke loved his mom, and that this would blow over the next time Atsuko was sober. After kissing for a few minutes, they went to bed.

_Tap, tap, tap._

Kagome groaned and woke up. It was early in the morning. What could possibly be tapping on her window? The only people that had ever done that were Inuyasha and Yusuke. She tried to ignore it and go back to bed, but the tapping grew louder. She wiggled out of Yusuke's arms and went to investigate. What she saw took her by surprise. It was an _owl_ tapping at her window. She opened the window to try and shoo it away, but it flew in and stationed itself right next to Yusuke. She looked at it; it had a letter tied to its leg. She made to grab for it, but the owl snapped at her.

"I swear I won't read it, I'll give it to him as soon as he wakes up." Kagome said, not sure why she was talking to a bird. Strangely though, the owl allowed her to take the letter before taking off. Kagome looked at the envelope, thinking she couldn't be any more surprised. She was wrong. The address on the letter was:

Mr. Yusuke Urameshi

The Bed

Kagome Higurashi's Bedroom

Second Floor

Higurashi Shrine

Tokyo, Japan

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There we go, the first chapter. Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!


	2. Second Meeting

I just couldn't resist the urge to write more. I SHOULD be doing my homework...meh, screw it. Here ya' go. Enjoy and please review! By the way, I'm going to be forced to rely on a few clichés pretty soon. I'm going to avoid as many as I can.

Time on my hands: Yes, it was Dudley and his gang. Yusuke also glimpsed Harry too. I really hope you like it. Thanks for the review! (By the way, this fast enough? Hehe.)

Jessica: Well, yes and no. You'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for the review!

Rahzenshia: Well, Kurama is the only other one attending Hogwarts. I don't want to say anything else at the moment. Don't worry; I'm not cutting anyone out. Thanks for the review!

Raine: Hehe, I thought it was funny too. As I've already said, Kagome and the others will not be attending Hogwarts. I have something planned, but I'm not saying anything else at the moment. Thanks for the review!

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Kagome stared at the envelope in her hands. How could anyone apart from her family know _exactly_ where Yusuke was? She was pretty sure he hadn't told anybody. Apart from that, the handwriting wasn't any she recognized. Thoroughly shocked; she attempted to wake Yusuke. She shook him.

"Not now, I gotta go on a hike." Yusuke muttered in his sleep. Kagome shook him harder.

"Eh? What's up?" Yusuke said, slowly opening his eyes.

"Yusuke...something really weird just happened."

"Are you ok?" Yusuke asked urgently; suddenly wide awake.

"I'm fine...it's just, well...look!" She said, handing him the envelope.

Yusuke stared at the envelope as well. What the hell was going on? Was this some kind of joke from Koenma? He opened the envelope and read the narrow handwriting of the enclosed letter.

_Greetings, Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi!_

_We met a few days ago. I must say, you made quite the impression on me. I would be honored if you would meet with me again. I would like to further discuss the events of that night, as well as give you a more formal thank you.__  
I was wondering if you were free today, perhaps around noon.__I believe I should also explain how I found out exactly where you were...it can be quite unnerving to some one who has never received an owl before. I will also give you a better explanation of how I dealt with that peculiar creature.__In addition to all this, I have a request to make of you. Please do not allow that to deter you from meeting with me.  
Should you choose to meet with me; I will be at the Yukimura Ramen Stand (I do love ramen!) at precisely noon. I only hope that you agree to this meeting._

_Sincerely,  
Albus Dumbledore_

_P.S. The meal will, of course, be my treat._

"Read this." Yusuke said, passing the letter to Kagome. She read through the letter quickly. Well, at least the part about the owl delivering the letter was partially explained.

"Are you going to meet with him?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah." Yusuke said. He was interested and he wanted to know how the old man had tracked him, if he was unsatisfied with the answer then the hospital wasn't _too_ far away.

"There's a chance I'll run into Keiko..." Yusuke said, as if suddenly asking permission. Keiko's school had let out for the summer the day before so there was a likelihood of her being home.

"It's ok." Kagome said. She trusted Yusuke with his ex-girlfriend (something extraordinary, considering what she had gone through with Inuyasha).

Yusuke was at the Ramen shop at eleven-thirty. Keiko was the only one there at the moment. Yusuke had a feeling that Dumbledore wouldn't have to pay for anything.

"YUSUKE!" She exclaimed as he entered.

"Hey." Yusuke said, taking a seat at the counter. They had alot of catching up to do.

"Oh, you're probably here for food." Keiko said twenty-nine minutes and thirty-one seconds later.

"Not exactly..." Yusuke said.

"What? You'd better not even be thinking about cheating on your new girlfriend, Yusuke. You know I wouldn't go along with it anyway."

"I never cheated on _you,_ and we weren't even really a couple." Yusuke said, heavily insulted (and showing it), "I'm here...on business..." He finished speaking right as Albus Dumbledore walked in; exactly at noon (he was dressed in a very strange purple suit).

Yusuke retreated from the counter and took a seat at the back of the diner, where Dumbledore joined him. Dumbledore placed his order; they didn't speak until Keiko brought it out, as well as Yusuke's (she knew what he wanted).

"On the house." She said, before adding quietly to Yusuke "For old times' sake." Dumbledore heard, but did not comment. Keiko seemed to decide to give them privacy, so she closed the shop, and retreated upstairs.

"It seems you come here often." Dumbledore said.

"Yeah, I do. Let's cut the small talk, who exactly are you?"

"First, let me thank you for fighting of those creatures, your intervention prevented any injury to me. As I have said before, my name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Wizardry? You mean like dance around a big pot with sticks, wizard?" Yusuke asked, he was having trouble believing this man; maybe he was crazy.

"Heavens, no! Those parties haven't been in style for years."

"Listen, I've seen alot of weird shit; but I've never heard of a _real_ wizard before." Yusuke said, he had really only picked up on the word 'wizard'.

"I believe you remember what I did to that unusual beast."

"Yeah." Yusuke said; he hadn't thought about that.

"Then should I choose to name that power 'wizardry' it would mean I was a wizard, would it not?"

"I don't know."

"Would you like a demonstration?"

"That depends..." Yusuke said, he had his right index finger pointing at Dumbledore under the table just to be safe.

"I will do nothing harmful, I assure you."

"Then go for it."

Dubledore pulled his wand out of his pocket and tapped it to the table, which began to levitate and change color.

"Ok, so you're a wizard. What do you want with me?" Yusuke said after he had gathered himself.

"First; to know what those creatures that attacked me were."

Yusuke hesitated, he wasn't supposed to talk about demons; then again, this man had already seen them, and he had proven he had a wide variety of powers.

"Demons." He said at last.

"Demons? I assume you mean beings of Hell?"

"Not exactly, but sure, we'll go with that." Yusuke said.

"Then this is most troubling."

"Why? Demons show up all the time, the only reason I got sent in is 'cuz they usually don't leave Japan when they cross over."

"It is troubling, because these 'demons', as you call them, seem to be taking orders from a very dangerous wizard."

"There's more then one of you guys?" Yusuke asked; completely distracted.

"Wizards? Yes, there are very many of us. As I have said, I am Headmaster of a school dedicated to the education of young wizards." Dumbledore said before falling silent for a long time.

"I still have a question." Yusuke said.

"By all means, ask it."

"How'd you know _exactly_ where to find me?"

"It is a spell we wizards use to deliver letters to potential students. Its practice is heavily regulated."

"Then why'd you get to use it on me?"

"Please, hear me out before you respond." Dumbledore said, with a nod from Yusuke, he continued; "I was wondering if you, who seems to have a wealth of experience with these creatures, would do an old man a great service, and enter his school under the guise of a student to protect it. I believe that the evil wizard we discussed earlier may use them to attack my school and its students. This evil wizard, you see; is currently hiding his return from the world, and an attack from unknown creatures could not be directly traced back to him; even though it is likely he has found a way to summon them."

"I'm real sorry old man, but I have someone to take care of back here." Yusuke said. He would have to report this to Koenma; it explained why demons were currently turning up in England.

Dumbledore gave his piercing stare. He seemed to know exactly what this person was to Yusuke.

"I would not object to taking on an additional student; if that would be your price."

"She has her own mission."

"Very well..." Dumbledore sighed gravely; standing up.

"I wish we could have worked together; I truly hope you will reconsider, but I cannot ask you to leave a loved one."

"Sorry, old man." Yusuke said; also standing up. He really was sorry; he didn't like the idea of being a student, especially so far away from home, but he also didn't like the idea of demons running around a school either.

Dumbledore left. Yusuke said a quick goodbye to Keiko and set off to return to Kagome to put her mind at ease. On the way he filled Koenma in on what had happened. Koenma was unusually silent the entire time.

Yusuke just walked in, he had told Ms. Higurashi that he would be returning shortly.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was approached by a young man with a red scarf thrown around his shoulders and a pacifier between his teeth. Koenma had felt the need to do this in person.

"You plight has recently been reported to us. It would be mutually beneficial if you would accept our help."

"Might the reporter's name have been Yusuke Urameshi?"

"Yes. We have to deal with these demons. We would like to send two of our best. Do you find this agreeable?"

"Only if I can find out exactly who you people are."

"You will only if you agree."

"Very well. I do not believe you mean my school any harm." Dumbledore said. He had delved into Yusuke's mind, he could tell Yusuke was truly sorry that he could not help, and if Yusuke reported to these people...

Koenma told him everything he had to. He left out who the two would be; he had to tell Dumbledore about the Spirit World, however.

Yusuke had told Kagome almost everything that had happened, leaving out the part that Dumbledore wanted him to go to the school to protect it (Kagome would insist he went, but he refused to be separated from her if he could help it). She seemed much less tense now; she had been thinking some one had been spying on them. They were now kissing playfully. Yusuke's communicator went off. It went off another three times before he answered it.

"What?"

"Yusuke, we need you to come in immediately. The rest of the team is already here."

"I'm kinda busy."

"This is important, Yusuke."

Yusuke sighed.

"How long this gonna take?"

"You should be home around nightfall."

Yusuke looked at Kagome; she wouldn't let him blow this off.

"I'll guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said sadly.

"Botan will pick you up in a moment." Koenma said before closing the connection.

"I wish I could quit." Yusuke said.

"We both know you wouldn't. You wouldn't let demons hurt people."

Yusuke knew she was right. She gave him a kiss on the cheek as goodbye.

Yusuke arrived in Koenma's office; he had no idea what this could be about, maybe he wanted to tell the team about the meeting with Dumbledore.

"Ok, I'm here, what's going on?" Yusuke asked.

"Perhaps I would be better suited to give you the details." Said a voice behind them.

"Old man?" Yusuke said. Dumbledore looked at Koenma.

"You neglected to mention that you would be sending some one unwilling to go." He said; feeling sorry for Yusuke, but he had already agreed to the terms.

"Yes, well; I said I would send in our best, and Yusuke is the best Spirit World has to offer. He is the captain of this team, and has an...obligation...to go."

"YOU BASTARD!" Yusuke yelled, dropping his fist into the center of Koenma's desk, and causing it to break in two. "I SHOULD-!" Yusuke had stopped using a language anyone recognized and seemed to just be streaming swear words together. The effect was more frightening than comical.

"I think it would be best if everyone else stepped out for a moment." Koenma said, he was terrified of Yusuke's wrath, but this had to be dealt with. Everyone except Yusuke, Koenma, and Dumbledore left the room.

"Yusuke, I'm so sorry." He said.

"You want me to go protect the school?" He asked.

"No, but that _is_ what you will be doing. If it helps, you get to choose one of your team mates to come along."

"Kagome." Yusuke said without hesitation.

"I'm sorry, Yusuke, we can't allow that."

"Why not?"

"It is imperative that she complete the Shikon Jewel."

"Then send me with her." Yusuke said. Even if he had asked why she had to finish it, Koenma couldn't have answered.

"I'm sorry, Yusuke. I can't do that."

"Koenma, please!" Yusuke _begged_, Koenma was stung, he had not once seen Yusuke beg. Dumbledore could tell that this was not something Yusuke would normally do, and he regretted entering into this alliance even more.

"Yusuke, it's out of my hands. These orders come from my father himself." Koenma said. Yusuke was stunned; Enma had never given him an order before.

"I refuse."

"You know what would happen; correct, Yusuke? You know my father would try to have you killed." Dumbledore was shocked. Koenma seemed alright, but his father seemed to be almost evil (by the way, read the manga until the end)

"I have places I can go that he can't follow me." Yusuke said; he was thinking of Kagome's well.

"But your teammates do not, two of them are still considered criminals, and my father would use them to get to you." Koenma said. Yusuke couldn't counter. He was stuck with this.

"I apologize again, Yusuke. I would not send you if I could help it. I have already tried to change his mind." Koenma said before summoning the rest of the team back in.

"What's the mission?" Kuwabara asked.

Dumbledore told the story of Voldemort, he explained how Voldemort had risen from near death, he explained everything he could about the current state of the wizarding world, about how the ministry was refusing to accept the truth, and he somehow managed to do this all without saying the name 'Harry Potter'.

"The question that remains, Yusuke, is who do you choose to back you up on this mission?" Dumbledore asked at the end of his long story.

Yusuke considered his options. Hiei would be nice to have with him, he was almost even in strength to Yusuke, and could continue teaching Yusuke swordsmanship; the minus being that there was a strong likelihood of him destroying the school. Kuwabara; while human, was almost as bad as Botan when it came to keeping things secret, and even though Yusuke wanted this over with fast, he also had a feeling the mission wouldn't end if their cover got blown. So that left...

"Kurama." Yusuke said, before adding "Sorry, man, but you're my best bet." Kurama nodded, signifying that he understood (and privately agreed).

"Then you are dismissed. Professor Dumbledore will have your school list, as well as any other important information, to you by tomorrow." Koenma said. They all began walking out, but Yusuke was stopped by Dumbledore.

"Yusuke, I am truly sorry, when I agreed to the terms I had no idea they would send you. I will be making arrangements so that your stay at the school will be easier for you. Having that said, it still pains me to ask you one more favor."

"What is it?" Yusuke asked. Dumbledore did seem to regret Yusuke being forced into this.

"There is a student that will require extra protection. He has been targeted by Voldemort several times in the past, and has a knack for trouble. I was wondering whether you could look out for him. His name is Harry Potter, and he is likely to need your help this year. Even if you do nothing more then be friendly with him it would be greatly appreciated." Dumbledore would tell Yusuke the rest in a letter.

"Yeah, I'll try." Yusuke said. He then returned to the Living World with Botan and set out for his destination. It was dark out already.

_Tap, tap, tap._

_"Another owl? Why? Yusuke isn't here..."_ Kagome thought, not looking up from her book; she figured if she just ignored this one it would go away. The tapping got too loud to be an owl, however...

"Yusuke!" Kagome said, looking up. She rushed to her window and opened it for him.

"What are you doing here? You said you-" Kagome was cut off by Yusuke keeping her mouth busy with his. After a few seconds, he broke the kiss.

"I. Love. You."

Kagome didn't get a chance to say it back this time. After another minute or so _she_ broke the kiss. Something was off, Yusuke's voice had sounded so sad when he said it this time. She remembered every other time he had said it; the first time it had been nervous, the second it was determined, and the third was filled with anticipation. Not once had he sounded sad.

"Yusuke, what's going on?" She asked; worried.

"They're making me go to the damn school. Away from you."

"What? Why?"

"They want me to protect it from demons."

Kagome said nothing. She didn't want Yusuke to go, but at the same time she did. She was going to miss him. She wished she could join him.

"I tried to get them to let you go too, but they said no." Yusuke said.

"Why?" She asked.

"You're...not a member of the team." He lied; he didn't want her to feel any pressure over the jewel. Kagome could tell he was lying, but he never lied to her without a reason he found justifiable, so she decided to let it drop.

"Do you know when you leave?"

"School starts at the beginning of September, but they want me to go up to England early for some reason. I have to leave in a couple days."

"You know, I don't have anything to do around here...I could go with you and see you off, at least." Kagome said, trying to cheer Yusuke, and herself, up. Yusuke's frown became slightly less prominent. At least they still had slightly less then a month together.

* * *

Hmm...Not much to say. I know my time line is kinda screwed up, but oh well. Hope you enjoyed it. Please review!

_Next Chapter:_ Preparations and Supplies


	3. Preparations and Supplies

This fic calls to me. I feel compelled to write again, though chapter three in my last fic was a complete nightmare; I really hope I don't repeat the experience. Oh, and I finished my homework too, granted I only got two hours of sleep...Enjoy and please review!

Time on my hands: Yeah, I wanted to bring Hiei along too, but, logically, Kurama is the only one that works. He's really the only one that has a remote chance of keeping Yusuke in line even a little (Yusuke has never fought Kurama, if Hiei or Kuwabara tried to tell him what to do then a good brawl could ensue). Kuwabara, while he would have also been a good choice, irritates me slightly, and I would find it difficult to not bash him, and since I have respect for the character, I would not enjoy doing it, if that makes sense. Hermione, well, I like to think she learned her lesson with Lockhart, but I won't be able to resist the jokes referring to her and redheads. I'm going to try and downplay the fangirl army in this. With the conversation between Dumbledore and Koenma, I was vague on purpose, I don't want it to be clear how much he knows, yet; I will tell you that he does not know anything of the teams past. Here's the update, thanks for the review!

Jessica: Yep, they're headin' off to Diagon Alley in this chapter. Thanks for the review!

Rahzenshia: These updates are for me too, I haven't been able to resist writing this fic. As for him being friends with Harry; I think it makes sense that Yusuke would respect Harry's streak of rebellion and trouble causing, and vice versa. Thanks for the review.

Raine: I was hoping I wasn't the only person that thought that was funny, and it's just the kind of thing Dumbledore would say. I'm only going to answer one of your questions; Kagome WILL be staying with him at the Leaky Cauldron, and will be with him until they arrive at King's Cross. The other questions you will just have to wait and see what I do with those.

* * *

Yusuke was lying next to Kagome; she had fallen asleep just over an hour ago, and, as tired as he was himself, Yusuke still had something to do before he left. Something that Kagome wouldn't know about. He slipped out of her bed and out her window. He silently made his way to a small shed on the grounds that housed a well. He slowly rolled the door open. He stood in the well house contemplating the well in front of him. He'd only done this twice, and that was if you counted the return trip, but it was easy enough. He hopped down the well. He knew it had worked when he was enveloped by blue light. There Yusuke stood, at the bottom of a well, five-hundred years in the past. He began using his spirit sense to find his target, and found it almost at once. His target had quite an unusual aura; it was easy to pick out. He set out quickly, wanting to get back before Kagome noticed he was gone.

"What are you doin' here? Where's Kagome?"

"Nice to see you too, Inuyasha." Yusuke said as the half demon descended upon him.

"Is something goin' on in the present?" Inuyasha said, failing to mask his concern for Kagome.

"Kinda, that's why I'm here." Yusuke said, "I'm here to see you. I need a favor."

"What?" Inuyasha asked apprehensively; Yusuke wouldn't do this unless he had no other choice.

"I'm getting sent away on a mission, so I won't be around to protect Kagome. You will be, though. Whenever she's back here be extra careful, ok?"

Inuyasha nodded.

"No, make sure you get it. If I find even a scratch on her, you're gonna be the one to pay for it. If anything happens to her then whatever I do to you is gonna be a hundred times worse."

"As if you could!" Inuyasha said, before adding "Don't worry, kid, I've been doing this longer then you."

"Ok, now that that's over, where are Miroku and Sango? I wanna say hi."

"They left to search for Kohaku a few days ago."

"Shippo sleeping?"

"Yeah."

"Tell him I said hi. I gotta go before Kagome wakes up. I was never here. I'm countin' on you dog-boy. Remember, not a scratch."

"Whatever, punkass." Inuyasha said as a farewell. Yusuke sped back through the well and through Kagome's window. As he settled back down next to her she briefly came to consciousness.

"Did you go somewhere?" She asked, barely awake.

"Just had to take a piss. Go back to sleep." Yusuke said soothingly. Kagome fell back asleep; Yusuke soon afterwards.

The next morning, on the other side of town, a certain spirit fox was thinking of all the questions his mother could ask. After he had prepared every possible answer; he went to his human mother to tell her his cover story.

"Mother, I have something I must tell you."

"What is it, Shuichi?" She asked; using his human name.

"I might have forgotten to mention this before, but I put in for an exchange program, to study in Europe. I was past the deadline, so I thought nothing of it when they informed me that I would merely be a back-up choice." Kurama had spent the night formulating this lie; it wasn't too much of a stretch for Shiori to think that he would neglect to mention something like this, when he was always so busy.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear..." Shiori said; wondering why he was telling her this now.

"I received a call last night informing that the first choice selection had backed out because his mother had been taken ill. They chose me to take his place. I assure you, this is an all-expenses paid program."

"That's wonderful news!" Shiori said, bursting with pride for her genius son. "When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow; I apologize for the fact that I did not give you a better warning."

Shiori recovered from her shock quickly. Her son was smart; he would be fine at...

"What's the name of this school, darling?"

"Hogwarts." Kurama said; inwardly thankful that his mother did not know English. After many more tears and praises from his mother, Kurama began to pack the essentials, when an owl flew through his open window. He quickly took the letter and read it. It had one important piece of information on it.

_I will be meeting you and Yusuke to further discuss this situation at the Leaky Cauldron Inn shortly after your employer sends you to England. Your supply list is enclosed. Remember to pack anything else you will need._

_-Albus Dumbledore_

Kurama stared at the letter, it was very short. Maybe Dumbledore was worried about the letters being intercepted. He looked at the second piece of paper (no, it was parchment); it had a list of books and various other supplies. He couldn't help but feel slightly better about leaving his mother when he saw a book entitled "Nature's Beautiful Mysteries: An Advanced Guide to Herbology" at least there would be something to occupy his time. He examined the other supplies. A wand...he knew some things about wizards, and he strongly doubted they would have any that would suit him or Yusuke.

Kagome woke before Yusuke. No sooner had she gotten out of Yusuke's arms then she noticed the owl perched on her desk. This owl allowed her to take the letter for Yusuke. She waited for Yusuke to wake up on his own before showing it to him.

"Just where the hell am I supposed to get all this crap?" Yusuke asked her after reading through the supply list.

"I'm sure he'll say. Yusuke you'd better go, my family doesn't know you're here. I'll see you later; I have to tell my mom I'm going to England for a while. She shouldn't have a problem with it; it should be safer then Feudal Japan."

Yusuke leapt through Kagome's window to the ground outside, and then over the wall of the shrine. He went home to find his mother sober.

"Get me coffee." She said.

"Alright, fine." Yusuke decided that he could be nice and do it this once. He poured his mother some coffee, and sat down.

"I'm going away again." He said.

"Call this time." Atsuko said; used to her sons disappearances.

"It's gonna be a long time."

"Just be careful, I can't afford another wake for you at the moment." Atsuko said; the real message was: please be careful.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." He responded. He threw all his clothes into a duffle bag; before thinking of what else he would need. His eyes fell on a picture of the team; it just wouldn't be the same without all of them there alongside him, he put the photo in a side pocket. He hesitated for a second, and then put his sword in his bag. He rushed over to Kagome's.

"You need to leave with a much lower profile next time. The people across the street called and said they saw a boy with long hair leap the wall. I'm pretty sure that was you. You almost got me in trouble!" Kagome said before slapping him.

"The only reason my mom let me off is because I told her you would be leaving and didn't want to bother her by knocking."

"Wait, is she letting you come with me to England?"

"Of course she is, if she didn't I would have slapped you alot harder."

"You're so abusive."

"She wants to talk to you." Kagome said; Yusuke got nervous, if Kagome was anything to judge by, then her rage would be great and terrible. He walked inside; he was almost shaking.

"Sit down." Ms. Higurashi instructed him as he walked in the kitchen. He obeyed; at least she hadn't banned him from the house, it seemed.

"Yusuke, do you know why I allow you to share a bed with my daughter?" She asked; Yusuke shook his head.

"It is because I trust you. I wouldn't trust just anyone like this, either." Her tone was deadly serious; Yusuke stayed silent.

"Now, what the two of you do together outside this house is none of my business. But, inside this house, I wish to know of any nighttime visits, even if you must wake me. Do not break my trust again; is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am." Yusuke said. Ms. Higurashi's face and tone softened to their usual state.

"Then you are always welcome in the Higurashi household."

"Thanks." Yusuke said; relieved that he'd gotten off so light. He was actually somewhat glad that Kagome wasn't there for that, though.

"You packed?" Yusuke asked her as soon as he'd gotten up to her room.

"Mostly; I still have to run out and get something." Kagome said.

"Ok."

"So, how was it with my mom?"

"She hasn't banned me from sleeping here. She just said to make sure I tell her whenever I come here, from now on."

"I didn't think she would. We just have to be more careful from now on."

Yusuke and Kagome went to meet up with Kurama.

"She's comin' with us to that inn." Yusuke told him immediately. Kurama nodded; he had absolutely no objections, she'd at least be able to keep him in line for a bit longer.

"Very well. Yusuke, make sure you bring Puu with you as well." Kurama had to make sure he got that message to Yusuke.

"Why?"

"Several reasons. He can deliver messages for us; and one of his hairs would serve well as a wand core."

"Umm...ok." Yusuke said; having no idea what Kurama had meant by 'wand core'. "But where should I put him? I can't carry around a fluffy blue penguin."

"Your hair should suffice until we reach the school." (SEE? I had a plan for his long hair the entire time, I'm a goddamn genius)

"You think of everything, don't you? Yusuke said grudgingly. He'd just stash Puu in their room when he could.

"I make every attempt to; yes."

After that; Kagome dragged them to the mall. She only went in one store; if _detective_ had been an accurate title for him, then Yusuke would have found it suspicious that she asked him to wait outside.

They parted ways later. Kurama going home to see his mother, Yusuke and Kagome returning to her house; Yusuke was spending more time there then at his own house these days.

The next morning (Yusuke had made sure to tell Ms. Higurashi he would be staying) arrived all too soon for Yusuke. It was almost noon when Botan arrived to take him and Kurama to London.

"Yusuke...Koenma said she can't come."

"She's only staying with us until we go to the damn school. You can come pick her up when we leave." Yusuke said.

"Alright then! Let's Go!" Botan said cheerily; she had felt bad about Yusuke being separated from Kagome, and was only too willing to help.

They arrived in London; right outside the Leaky Cauldron. Botan left them as the trio entered. It was early morning here. The three sat down at a table and began conversing rapidly in Japanese. They were there all of five minutes before Dumbledore appeared (he hadn't walked in; he had appeared from thin air, a few feet from their table). Dumbledore walked up to the barman.

"A private parlor, please, Tom."

"Of course, Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore beckoned them, and they followed him into another room. Upon taking seats; Dumbledore instantly addressed them.

"First, my deepest apologies; I only booked two rooms for your stay."

"We'll be ok." Yusuke said; pulling Kagome so close she might as well have been on his lap. Dumbledore acknowledged that he was more than forgiven for his error in judgment.

"Second, I believe I am correct in saying that you three do not speak English."

Yusuke and Kagome nodded. Kurama, however, said:

"I apologize for contradicting you, but I am fluent in English, as well as a multitude of other languages."

"My apologies for underestimating you. On to the point; I can cast a charm that will give you the ability to speak, read, and write in English. It would be very difficult for you to get much done using an interpreter. Would you like me to cast the charm? I assure you that it has no negative side effects; other than the fact that you must remember to switch back to Japanese mentally."

"Sure thing." Yusuke said; he had been wondering how they would deal with that. Kagome nodded her agreement.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand and cast the charm.

"Thanks, that was going to be a pain in the ass."

"On to more important matters. Yusuke, this pertains to you most particularly, so I must ask that you remove your hands and eyes from the young lady next to you. Harry Potter has become the subject of much persecution; befriending him could cost you."

"If he turns out to be alright then I don't care."

"I deduced as much. However, if his enemies at school are assaulted, I may not be able to protect you from the any teachers for long." Dumbledore said; he had a pretty good idea of what Yusuke was like. "I would also advise that you attempt to keep your swearing in check when in the presence of teachers."

"Another, even more important issue, is that neither of you reveal your powers to anyone. We wizards are woefully ignorant of other types of magic, and it would be catastrophic if anyone found out." Dumbledore said. Kurama spoke.

"Professor, what if we are forced into a situation where we can no longer pretend to be wizards?"

"Then I would expect nothing less of you then to deal with this threat by any means necessary. Should such an incident arise where you are forced to use your powers, or if you slip up and reveal that you are not wizards; then a memory charm should cover it, see me if you do not believe you can perform one accurately. If you reveal yourselves on too wide a scale, however, we must accept that memory charms would not be used. I refuse to alter many of my student's memories."

"And last; I would suggest that you begin learning basic magic during your stay here at the Leaky Cauldron. It would be very suspicious if you arrived at school and did not know any. I must depart; we will meet again to discuss your transportation to school. I suggest you use this day to get your supplies; I have set up accounts in Gringotts Bank for the both of you, which should contain enough money for your supplies. We will discuss your compensation for this mission on a later date." Dumbledore left.

"Did he say compensation? As in payment? We're actually getting PAID this time?"

"It seems that way."

"This mission suddenly sucks slightly less!" Yusuke exclaimed.

They walked into the main pub and deposited their bags in their rooms; after which they asked how to get into Diagon Alley. Tom, the proprietor, instructed them how, minutes later they were standing in a slowly crowding street full of wizards and witches. They were attracting alot of stares (being the only ones dressed as muggles, and Yusuke having such long hair).

"Where to first?"

"I believe we need money, Yusuke. We have to go to the bank." Kurama stated. They started to make their way towards the bank.

"Wait a sec, fox-boy. Can I trust you in there?"

"I would never steal from a bank, Yusuke." "_Without proper planning." _He added in his own thoughts; before shaking the impulse of his past life from his mind. They gave no notice to the fact that the bankers were all goblins.

"Hello, could you take us our vaults? Our names are Shuichi Minamino and Yusuke Urameshi."

"Just a minute. GORNUK!" A goblin scurried over. "Take these three to the vaults of Yusuke Urameshi and Shuichi Minamino."

Off they went on a crazy cart ride. Along the way, Yusuke couldn't resist asking Kurama something (thankfully in Japanese).

"So, how easy would it be for you to rob this place blind?"

"It would present quite a challenge, though I could do it of course." Kurama said.

They arrived at Kurama's vault first. It had a decent amount of gold, silver, and bronze coins. Kurama packed them all into a money bag he had brought with him. They climbed back into the cart and moved just short of twelve feet.

"Really? We couldn't just walk?" Yusuke asked. The goblin shot him a dirty look. He had the same amount of coins in his vault as Kurama; which he shoved into Kurama's money bag; he flat out refused to carry one, saying it was too much like a purse.

They got back in the cart, Kurama began talking to the goblin, but Yusuke wasn't paying attention. The cart ride seemed to be upsetting her stomach; she seemed ready to puke.

"Are you ok? You need anything? Wanna go back to the inn? I'll carry you if you need me to." Yusuke said to Kagome after they had left the bank. Yusuke worried about very few things; Kagome just happened to fall on the top of that list.

"I'm fine, Yusuke, really. Let's just go get your things." Kagome said, thinking of how embarrassing it would be to be carried through the now thick crowd.

"Yusuke, hold still." Kurama said suddenly.

"What's up?" Yusuke asked. Kurama plunged his hand into Yusuke's hair and pulled out a short black one.

"Puu!" said the surprised spirit beast.

"My apologies; I needed one of his hairs. Now then, let's visit the wand shop."

They stopped in a shop called Ollivander's. Yusuke felt strange being in here; it was so magical it was almost uncomfortable.

"Greetings. I am Mr. Ollivander. How may I help you?" said a voice behind them. Kurama decided it would be best if he did the talking.

"Hello. As is obvious, we are here for wands."

"May I ask what happened to your old ones? It is unusual for wizards as old as yourselves to require wands."

"They were both damaged beyond repair in an incident; we were, however, able to salvage their cores." Kurama said; producing two small bottles; one containing the short black hair from Puu, and the other a long, silver hair. "The previous maker of these wands has retired and refuses to remake them. We have heard that you are the best in this land, and would like you to remake them as you see fit." Yusuke had to marvel at just how cunning Kurama was.

"I don't usually do commissions..."

"We will pay you extra, of course." Kurama said; if they didn't happen to have enough for their other supplies, well, Kurama could still get them.

"No, no, I charge seven Galleons a wand, regardless of the conditions it is sold under. I will have them ready for you in four days. But what about the young lady?" Ollivander asked. (By the way, that _is_ the right price.)

"She is non-magical; she is here because my companion refuses to part company with her until he absolutely has to."

They left the shop. They had given Ollivander fourteen gold Galleons and gone on their way. They had gathered most of the other supplies, and were on their way to their last stop (robes) when Yusuke got distracted.

"Kurama, you know some stuff about wizards, right?"

"Yes."

"What's Quidditch?"

"I have absolutely no idea. Perhaps you should look into it yourself; I bought a few extra books to learn about wizard culture."

"Or, you can find out and let me know." Yusuke said; if Kurama was going to read those books anyway then there was no reason for him to.

"_We_ will investigate later, right now, we must get our robes." Kurama said; they had bought everything else (deciding against pets). A few minutes later...

"I am NOT wearing those!" Yusuke said.

"Yusuke, it _is_ required."

"I don't care!"

Kagome decided to weigh in.

"Just wear them." She said.

"And if I don't?"

"Well, I'll be really disappointed in you." She said putting on a sad-puppy dog face.

"That won't work on me. I know you don't really care."

Kagome abandoned the look and moved in to kiss him.

"Now put on the robes." She said, after the kiss broke.

"That's not fair." Yusuke whined; deciding to let Madam Malkin measure him, and then buying the robes.

They returned to their rooms. They weren't quite used to the time change yet, and they were tired. Yusuke and Kagome fell asleep almost instantly after changing into their pajamas (Yusuke's consisting of nothing more then his boxers).

* * *

Yep. Was a nightmare. Normally I'd have more notes, but I'm freakin' tired, so I just don't care right at this second. Goodnight, and please review.


	4. Good bye, My love

No real notes. Writing this chapter is gonna suck; time for them to separate.

Time on my hands: I don't know what you're talking about. Kurama would _never_ steal anything. I wish sarcasm could be conveyed through text; and he won't ever know about the Invisibility Cloak, unless I decide to change something. I actually already have something in mind regarding said cloak. Koenma doesn't know anything about them being paid for this mission...musta slipped Dumbledore's mind. And yes, Yusuke is whipped. Thanks for the review!

Rahzenshia: I'm glad I like writing it too. Yeah, I think that Yusuke would refuse to wear the robes, and that Kagome would be able to make him wear them. Thanks for the review!

Raine: Well, I hate to disagree with you, but Yusuke is a year younger then Kagome, so it really is technically impossible for him to be her father, unless him or Kagome's mom can travel through time by about sixteen years.

_**WARNING:**_ Talks of sexuality, nothing explicit, but I don't want people cluttering up my reviews with torches and pitchforks.

* * *

"Yusuke, wake up."

"I don't wanna."

It was the forth day of their stay; the day that they would be getting their wands. They couldn't really practice magic without them. Kagome was currently trying to wake Yusuke so they could join Kurama for breakfast before they left. Yusuke had discovered what Quidditch was, and he liked the sound of it. He had wanted to buy a broom, but couldn't afford one, not even with his and Kurama's money pooled together (they didn't come close to the one Yusuke had his eye on). He had been up all night trying to find out more about the game.

"Get up already!" Kagome said; Yusuke could be impossible sometimes. She was getting extremely frustrated.

"GET UP OR I'LL SLAP YOU!" Kagome nearly yelled. Kurama was probably already done eating, and she was really hungry.

"Alright, alright, keep you shirt on...or don't."

Kagome smiled in victory. Yusuke began to walk out of the room.

"Yusuke; clothes."

"Oh yeah..."

After Yusuke was dressed they went downstairs to eat. They found Kurama reading a newspaper called "The Daily Prophet" which was the norm for every morning. Kurama had learned quite a bit about wizard culture; and had only gotten through one of his extra books. They finished eating and went into Diagon Alley. They made their way to Ollivander's.

"These wands were tricky. I have never worked with cores like these." He handed the first one to Kurama; "Rosewood, fourteen inches, unknown core. Good for transfiguration and charms." He handed the second to Yusuke; "Ebony, thirteen and one half inches, unknown core. Adept for any magic of a destructive sort."

"Thank you; your help is greatly appreciated."

"You must have really cared for those wands to salvage their cores." Ollivander said; handing them over. Yusuke took his and disappeared with Kagome. He lead her to an alleyway between shops (no, not Knockturn Alley). He began kissing her; they were pretty well concealed...

A few minutes later, however, a wizard who decided to use the path as a shortcut walked by, cleared his throat, and then muttered something about loose morals. That killed the mood fairly quickly. Yusuke and Kagome left the alley to find Kurama. He turned out to be waiting just outside the alley; leaning against the wall of one of the buildings.

"These wizards are buncha prudes." Yusuke said.

"From the time they are eleven years old they are kept under the constant eye of adults. It makes sense that they would all be, as you put it, prudes." was Kurama's response.

"Yeah, whatever." They began walking back toward the inn, Yusuke having no desire to stay in Diagon Alley. He had just turned his head to talk to Kagome when he ran into someone.

"Sorry about that." He said as Kurama helped the woman up. She was slightly plump, had red hair, and was carrying what looked like a new broom as well as many new books. She seemed to be in a very good mood for someone that had just been knocked to the ground.

"Nothing to worry about, dear!" she said, before walking off again.

The next couple weeks passed far too quickly for Yusuke's liking. He spent almost all his time with Kagome; the rest of it was spent learning magic. He wasn't bad at it, in fact, for someone that had never used magic before he was quite good, but he doubted whether he would be a star pupil either (Kurama mastered every spell he came across immediately). It was two days before they were scheduled to leave that they were visited by Dumbledore again.

"Good evening. I am here to discuss how you will be getting to the school. It is a fairly simple procedure. You must go to King's Cross Station, go to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and board the train at that platform."

"Now then, on to the subject of your compensation. I will be paying you both throughout the year. I believe it will be best if your employer does _not_ know about this;" Dumbledore stopped for a moment, "Unfortunately, I have no means of paying you anything apart from wizard currency, you will have to have it exchanged yourselves if you intend to spend it outside our world."

"Trunks are required for all Hogwarts students. I have had one sent to each of your rooms. They should suffice for all your belongings. Yusuke, Hogwarts has no stated rules about _owning_ swords, but be careful with how you _use_ it. I may not be able to get it back to you if it gets confiscated." Dumbledore was surprised when Yusuke grinned and looked at Kurama.

"I think fox-boy could get it back for me."

"I am sure you mean through diplomatic means." Dumbledore said; it was obvious that he knew perfectly well what Yusuke meant. Apparently Kurama was a good thief. (UNDERSTATEMENT)

"Umm...yeah, sure."

"Then I see no problems."

"Onto another topic, if _I_ catch either of you breaking rules, I will not reprimand you for it unless it causes any real danger to my students. The other teachers will know nothing of your true identities and will _not _be so lenient." Dumbledore paused to let them know he was changing the topic. "Your cover stories are that you are two exchange students I have invited from Japan. If you must speak of your 'other school', I believe it would be wise to refer to Lord Koenma as your headmaster."

"Now then, may I have a private word with Ms. Higurashi?" Dumbledore said. Yusuke looked on the brink of refusing, but Kagome let him know with a nod that it was alright. Dumbledore waited until Yusuke and Kurama were outside the room.

"First, my deepest apologies for having caused this terrible ordeal. It pains me to see two who care for each other so much torn apart." Dumbledore said, "Now then, Yusuke's employer has made it quite clear that you are not to even step onto the platform or the school grounds, unless it is necessary; which I'm sure will demoralize Yusuke and make him an extremely ineffective guard. _Do you understand?_"

"Yes, sir."

"Should an incident occur where you are required to come to my school, I will of course arrange transportation. Though you will have to forgive me if I forget to make arrangements for your stay and you are forced to sleep at the school."

"I think I could live with it."

"Very good! Now then, don't let me keep you from Yusuke any longer."

Dumbledore left. Kagome went back out to Yusuke.

"What'd he want?"

"Nothing; just wanted to apologize." Kagome said.

"Alright." Yusuke said. They went to their room after that. It was already dark outside.

"I'm going to take a bath." Kagome said.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Sorry, but I doubt you could control yourself." Kagome said; Yusuke decided he wouldn't try anymore at the moment. Kagome exited the bath twenty minutes later, wrapping a towel around her body to cover her top and her bottom. She sat on the bed next to Yusuke, who was reading since there were no televisions here. He looked up when he felt her weight on the bed.

"Are you _trying_ to tempt me?" He asked after noticing what she was wearing.

"No; I'd be completely naked if that were the case." Kagome said. Yusuke was silent for a few minutes.

"Kagome, why haven't we...you know...since the first time?" Yusuke's face was a little pink when he asked.

"Is that a problem for you?"

"Nah, I was just wondering." Yusuke said truthfully. Sure, he wanted it, but he could do without. Kagome was silent for a while this time.

"I forgot to pack them, and wizards don't sell _that_ kind of protection, apparently." Kagome said. Yusuke didn't have to ask what she meant.

"That sucks." Yusuke said. They went to bed.

The days left passed. It was the morning of their departure. Neither Yusuke nor Kagome had slept the night before; they had spent the whole night alternately talking or kissing. Kagome was tired; Yusuke was using his Spirit Energy to stay awake. They arrived at the station nearly forty-five minutes early. Botan turned up almost fifteen minutes later.

"I'm sorry; I have to take you now." Botan said; her face was grim. She didn't want to separate them.

"Why? We aren't leaving yet." Yusuke protested.

"Enma's orders. I'm sorry, Yusuke."

"Just...give us a minute." Yusuke said.

"Kagome, I wish I didn't have to go. I'm going to miss you so much."

"I know." Kagome paused, "I love you, Yusuke."

"I love you so damn much. I swear I'm gonna kill Enma when this is over." Yusuke said. Botan came over.

"I'm sorry, we have to go now." Botan said. Yusuke kissed Kagome deeply; knowing he wouldn't be able to taste her lips for a long time.

"Yusuke; I can't stall any longer. I'm sorry." Botan found herself hating herself. No one should be forced to part from some one they loved so much. She had almost refused the orders.

"Kagome; be careful," were the last words he said to her before she left.

"Yusuke." Kurama had come over and placed his hand on Yusuke's shoulder.

"Let's just find the damn platform." Yusuke said. Yusuke was _acting_ calm, but Kurama sincerely pitied anyone who annoyed him on the train. He probably would not be able to keep Yusuke from beating on them.

They stopped at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. There was something strange about that wall.

"I believe that we enter there." Kurama said, pointing at the barrier. They could both just barely see through it. They doubted whether anyone else could. They walked through and found themselves at the right place. Yusuke grabbed his trunk of the carrier and carried it one handed to a shadowy corner. They were already attracting stares. This was made much worse when Yusuke decided to try and balance his trunk on one finger in an attempt to distract himself. Even worse was that he was doing a fairly good job of it.

"Yusuke, could you _please_keep a lower profile?" Kurama asked; they were drawing a small crowd.

"I probably could."

Kurama sighed. At least the train would be leaving soon.

A boy with jet-black hair and glasses walked on to the platform; he noticed the small crowd, but chose not to investigate. He was glad that it wasn't him that was the center of attention this time. He said his goodbyes to the people guarding him, and went to find a seat on the train.

"Yusuke, let's get on the train." Kurama said.

"Alright, fine." Yusuke responded; ending his little show. He carried his trunk (one handed again, of course) into the train and began looking for an empty compartment with Kurama. They found one, Puu left Yusuke's hair, and Yusuke tried to fall asleep against the window.

"Why don't we just sit in there? There's room." Said a girl with flaming red hair. (OK, I'm getting sick of describing everyone until they happen to say their name, so just run with it)

"I didn't want to bother them..." Neville said. Harry was standing in the corridor of the train with Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and a girl Ginny had introduced as Luna Lovegood.

"Don't be silly." Ginny said, sliding open the door. Harry saw the two sitting in the compartment for the first time; his view had been obscured earlier. One had long hair, which was an even darker shade of red then the Weasley's, but if _he_ had long hair it was nothing compared to the boy in there with him. Harry could tell that if this second boy stood up that his hair would drop down to his knees.

"Do you mind if we sit here?" Ginny asked.

"Not at all." Kurama said politely.

"I don't care." Yusuke said; realizing he probably wasn't going to get any sleep.

"So...I've never seen you two around..."

"Yes, well, we are exchange students this year. Your Headmaster has graciously invited us to attend Hogwarts this year."

"Really? Where are you from?"

"Japan."

"Wow, that's _really_ far away. Oh, I'm sorry, we didn't even introduce ourselves yet. I'm Ginny Weasley."

"Umm...I'm Neville Longbottom..."

"Luna Lovegood."

Harry braced himself for what he thought would surely happen. "My name is Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you."

"S'up? I'm Yusuke Urameshi, by the way." Yusuke said, he recognized Harry's name, but Dumbledore had told him Harry didn't really like being famous. Harry was surprised, but pleased, when they didn't look at his scar.

"I am Shuichi Minamino."

"But you can call him Kurama. I won't know who the hell you're talkin' about if you say Shuichi." Yusuke said. He couldn't remember hearing someone use Kurama's human name except his mother.

"So what's Japan like?" They set off into conversation. Kurama did most of the talking; afraid Yusuke would blunder and accidentally say something wrong. Yusuke, whose mind was on Kagome, didn't really mind. The conversation changed into more general topics. Eventually they started talking about subjects at school, and from there to Herbology. Kurama decided _not_ to show off that he knew almost everything about plants.

"I got a Mimbulus Mimbletonia from my uncle this summer. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. It has an amazing self defense mechanism. Lemme show you..." Neville aimed a quill at the plant; which he had handed to Yusuke, and threw it. Kurama had his wand out and had cast a shield around himself at the last moment, but Yusuke, whose hands were full, couldn't. The compartment door slid open.

"Oh...Hi Harry, I just wanted to stop in and say hi...bye then." The girl who had opened the door left extremely quickly.

"I'm sorry...I didn't realize that would happen. I've never done that before." Neville said, horrified, even under all the stinksap; Yusuke looked mad.

"WHAT THE HELL FOX-BOY? YOU KNEW DAMN WELL THAT WOULD HAPPEN!" Neville looked slightly relieved that Yusuke had taken his anger out on some one besides him. He took his plant out of Yusuke's hands.

"I must have misidentified the plant." Kurama was trying not to laugh; he had of course known that would happen, but chose not to mention it.

"BULLSHIT!"

"Ugh...Scourgify!" Ginny said, casting the cleansing charm.

"I think I'll go find somewhere else to sit..." Neville said, and then he left.

"Yusuke, calm yourself." Kurama said.

"Grr...you're paying for that one later." Yusuke said; looking extremely mad still. It was a while before he calmed down. Ginny mentioned something about someone named Michael, before she left too. The compartment was silent for a while. Kurama had taken out "Hogwarts, A History" and was reading it very quickly. It was the last book that he had bought that he hadn't read. Harry had engaged Yusuke in a conversation about Quidditch. Yusuke, though he had never played any sports, thought that Quidditch would be fun (how could it not be when there was a chance of severe injury or death?). He just wished he had a broom.

"Nah, I've never flown. I wanna give it a shot though." Yusuke said. It was at this point that Ron and Hermione entered.

"Hey guys." Harry said, breaking off his conversation with Yusuke.

"Oh, right. This is Yusuke Urameshi and Shui-"

"Kurama." Yusuke interrupted him.

"My name is Shuichi Minamino, but Yusuke will insist you call me by my nickname; Kurama." Kurama finished the introduction.

"These are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."

"Nice to meet you," Said Kurama, snapping shut "Hogwarts, A History". Ron suddenly sneezed.

"Anyone smell roses?" He asked snuffily. Harry saw Yusuke look at Kurama and get closer to a smile then he had seen since he had met him. Yusuke had seemed to be paying attention to their conversation, but he'd also seemed to have something depressing him.

"Nah, I don't smell anything." Yusuke said.

Hermione and Ron sat down.

"So, how come we've never seen you before? I mean, it's obvious you're new." Hermione said.

"We are exchange students from Japan." Kurama provided.

"_REALLY?_ Wow! Hogwarts has _never_ had exchange students before!"

"Yes, well, your headmaster invited Yusuke, and said he could pick anyone he wanted to come along." Kurama figured he would get as close to the truth as he could without exposing anything. Harry doubted anyone else noticed, but Yusuke seemed to look even more depressed now. After a few minutes of failing to reengage him in conversation; Harry gave up. It was less than a minute later that three unwelcome guest showed up.

"Looks like Potter's got some new friends; a rock star wannabe and a man-lady!" Said Draco Malfoy. Yusuke wasted no time; he was holding Malfoy by the shirt and had a fist drawn back.

"It really sucks to be you; you caught me in a bad mood, and that makes me act like a real jerk." Yusuke said; voice so full of menace that Malfoy nearly started shaking before remembering his two jumbo-sized companions.

"Let go of me. I'm a prefect; I'll put you in detention!" He sneered.

"I'll put _you_ in a hospital bed." Yusuke said.

"Yusuke!" Kurama said warningly. Yusuke loosened his grip enough for Malfoy to get free.

"Ha!" Malfoy said, and thinking danger had passed, he flicked his wand at Yusuke's trunk in the luggage rack. It crashed to the floor and sprung open. Yusuke looked for one second, and was in the middle of returning his gaze to Malfoy when Crabbe and Goyle took this opportunity to punch him.

"I will not try to prevent Yusuke from harming you again." Kurama's voice was cold; it was frightening. Yusuke delivered a right hook to Goyle's face, and a straight left jab to Crabbe's jaw. He had restrained himself from knocking them out cold. Harry, Hermione, and Ron watched in horror and awe. Malfoy tried to run, but Yusuke grabbed the neck of his robes and punched him in the back of the head.

"Now piss off." Yusuke said, closing the compartment door. He felt slightly better now. He was about to start picking up his things when two separate voices hailed down on him.

"That was beautiful!" Ron said.

"You'll be in so much trouble!" was Hermione's terrified response.

"Anyone wanna help me with this?" He asked. It was then he noticed something that he couldn't ever remember seeing before. A small wrapped box with a note written in Japanese attached.

_Yusuke,_

_I know back home this would look dorky, but it'll probably look cool to all the people in England. Wear it for me, ok?_

_Love,_

_Kagome_

_P.S. I hope you find this before you get to school._

Yusuke opened the box and found a neck chain inside. There was a symbol in Kanji on the end. Yusuke put it on and tucked it under his shirt. He smiled.

"Right, anyone gonna help, or are you all just going to sit their with your thumbs up your asses?" Yusuke asked; his tone much brighter now.

Yusuke's possessions weren't too strange; he had an assortment of muggle clothes (some of them looked a little strange to Harry) and robes. The only out of the ordinary thing was...

"A sword?" Hermione asked; picking up Yusuke's katana.

"Yeah."

"Are...are you sure its allowed?"

"The old man said it would be alright."

"Cool! Do you know how to use it?" Ron asked.

"Kinda." Yusuke said; taking the sword from Hermione and putting it in his trunk on top of everything else. It was then that Harry noticed a muggle photograph taped on the inside of the lid. There were four people standing there. Yusuke and Kurama were in the picture, but Yusuke's hair was much shorter. Yusuke was in front, with his arm outstretched and his fingers poised to fire an imaginary gun. Kurama was wearing a smile. Harry's gaze fell upon the other two. One was short and had a look on his face that clearly said he didn't want to be a part of the fun; the other was tall; he had orange hair and he _looked_ like he was stupid, yet kind.

"Hiei and Kuwabara." Yusuke said, noticing Harry looking at the picture.

"That picture was taken right after our team won a competition, of sorts." Kurama said.

"What kind of competition?"

Kurama hesitated. "Perhaps later; right now we should probably get changed into our robes." Harry got the sense that they didn't want to talk about it.

"Kurama."

"Yes, Yusuke?"

"I'm not wearing those."

"We've had this discussion already. Please put on the robes."

"You can't make me." Yusuke said, and to prove his point, he sat down.

"_I_ cannot make you, that is true. But what I could do is write Kagome."

"You bastard." Yusuke said; slipping a robe on over his muggle clothes quickly, before sitting back down.

"If you don't mind me asking, who's Kagome?"

"She's my...uh..."

"Your girlfriend?"

"Well...not exactly..." He felt that him and Kagome had moved beyond the stage of 'boyfriend and girlfriend', but he didn't want to say lover to these prudes.

"What is she then? Your wife?" Ron asked jokingly. Yusuke gave a yelp and fell out of his seat. He'd never thought about that.

"No, Yusuke is not married. I believe what Yusuke was trying to say was that he thinks he and Kagome are closer then your average pair." Kurama said with a small chuckle as Yusuke picked himself up off the ground.

"Oh." Harry said. He wondered why Yusuke had chosen Kurama over her to come with him if they were so close.

The train ride was almost over. Kurama had returned to "Hogwarts, A History".

"Yusuke, we have a problem." He said.

"What's up?"

"Hogwarts separates it's students into four different houses, based on their personality traits. I am almost certain that me and you will end up in separate houses. I believe that you will be in Gryffindor, and that I will be in Ravenclaw."

"Shit."

"You know, no one really knows where they'll be put until they're there." Hermione said; she was trying to ignore Yusuke's foul mouth.

"Kurama's _always_ right." Yusuke sighed. Yusuke shifted in his seat, trying to adjust his hair.

"Hey, Fox-Boy, could you lop all this off for me? I hate it this long." Yusuke said; plucking at his hair.

"It will have to wait until tomorrow, I'm afraid."

"How come you let it grow out so much?"

"Kagome likes it long, so I left it like this." Yusuke said without thinking.

"What do you mean you left it like that?"

Kurama answered. "Yusuke accidentally grew his hair out by magic, and later had it cut, but when he did it again Kagome asked him to keep it like that."

"Oh, ok."

They were slowing down. They stopped. Puu came out from his hiding place in the luggage rack.

"Umm, what it that?"

"A flying blue penguin." Yusuke answered. They decided that was the best answer they were going to get. They exited the train (Luna had wondered off hours ago without them noticing).

"Yusuke, I believe we should go with the first years."

"Why? Are they different?"

"They cross the lake in boats."

"Umm..."

"The giant squid won't hurt you." Ron said.

"Giant Squid? Fuck that! I'm going with you guys." Yusuke said. He was confident in his fighting abilities on land...in the water was another story.

"I suppose I will see you at the feast, then." Kurama said. Harry seemed to be looking for someone.

"Hagrid's not here." He said, leading the way to the carriages. Yusuke was about to ask who Hagrid was, when he saw something that diverted his attention. Skeletal, lizard-like horses.

"What are these guys?" Yusuke said; going up and patting one; compared to some of the demons he'd seen, these were relatively cute.

"What guys?"

"These horse things."

"I don't see anything."

"You don't?" Harry asked; he saw them too, but he wasn't so bold as to pet one.

"Whatever; let's just go." Yusuke said; climbing into the carriage that Hermione had already gotten into. They talked on the way up to the school. Yusuke looked out right as it came into view.

"HOLY SHIT!" He exclaimed.

No one had mentioned Hogwarts was a castle.

* * *

Screw it, I'll do notes later. I'm tired, goodnight.


	5. The First Day

Sorry this took so long for me to get out. Enjoy and please review!

Animefouryou: Yes, that was hard for me to do; but I did it to myself, so I can't complain. But you know, even if Kagome was there it would still drive Yusuke crazy that they would be limited on privacy, I think. Thanks for the review!

Flame: Here ya' go. Next chapter should be up faster. Thanks for the review!

Time on my hands: Do you really think Malfoy isn't going to try and get revenge numerous times? I'm still toying with the idea of Yusuke making good on his promise (the one involving a hospital bed). I decided to make Snape's first meeting relatively painless. Note that I said the first meeting. Thanks for the review!

Reads-way-2-much: Thank you; I think I did ok with their relationship. I even learned something in my psychology class that makes me that much more certain I'm doing good, but I won't bore you with my psycho-babble. Thanks for the review!

Rahzenshia: Wow! Thank you very much, though I'm afraid I may have disappointed you with this chapter. As for the other pairing: I may drop little hints every once in a while. I hate to leave such a long review such a short response, but I don't have much else to say (its five in the morning...kinda tired) Thanks for the review!

Raine: Yes, there is no fighting it; I dropped a huge hint last chapter. Kagome will be showing up, but I'm not telling you when, or how, or why. Thanks for the review!

**Warning:** This chapter sucks. I had alot of trouble with it; and I apologize, but next chapter will be better; I promise. Oh, and I think Yusuke is way out of character in this. And I had to rehash alot of the conversations from the book (that'll stop soon). Seriously though; I think this is the worst thing I've ever posted.

* * *

"HOLY SHIT!" Yusuke exclaimed as Hogwarts came into view.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"This school is a castle???"

"Yes."

"Cool."

There was silence for a while

"So...what are the teachers like here?"

"Most of them are cool. McGonagall can be kinda strict, but she's good overall, Trelawney is obsessed with predicting people's deaths, not to mention she's a fraud, but she's not mean or anything. The only one we can think of to really watch out for is Snape; he's pure evil."

"And he's gonna be tearing into you, 'cause you beat up his favorite student already." Ron added to Harry's description.

"Whatever." Yusuke said impassively; like some teacher was going to scare him. The three began filling Yusuke in on several aspects of Hogwarts.

"Then there's the Forbidden Forest; which is forbidden, obviously."

"For good reason; there's loads of dangerous stuff in there."

Yusuke grinned slightly. "Sounds like fun."

"Trust me; it isn't; every time we've gone in it's always ended badly." Harry said; he could tell Yusuke was still contemplating going in the forest; despite their warnings.

"So much for 'Forbidden'." He said.

"We've never _wanted_ to go in." Ron said; Yusuke raised an eyebrow, but did not receive a further explanation. It wasn't that they didn't like Yusuke, but it was still a bit early to tell him about all their adventures; only a select few knew about all that. Yusuke decided to ask something else.

"How are we sorted or whatever."

"Well; you put on the sorting hat, then it sees what traits are the most prominent in you, then it says what house you're in." Hermione explained.

"How can it see that?"

"Well...it kinda goes through your head." Harry said.

"What?" Yusuke asked; suddenly sounding urgent.

"Don't sound so worried; the hat doesn't tell anyone." Harry said; remembering how it had wanted to put him in Slytherin.

"Ok." said Yusuke; sounding relieved. It seemed to Harry that Yusuke had some secrets of his own.

"We're almost there..."

The carriages rolled to a stop. The four climbed out; Yusuke gave one last pat to the skeletal horse as they made their way to the castle. They had just entered the entrance hall when...

"Mr. Urameshi!"

"McGonagall." Harry whispered to him.

"Come with me." She said. Kurama was right behind her; wearing an apologetic smile, at least it looked apologetic; Kurama was hard to read. She was leading them to where the first years were.

"We already know about your exploits on the train." She said. Her tone was so close to Genkai's that Yusuke half expected her to add 'dimwit'.

"Please explain to me why you did this."

"They hit me first! And the blonde one knocked my trunk off the rack!" Yusuke said defensively.

"After you grabbed Mr. Malfoy by the shirt."

"After he provoked me!" Yusuke struggled to not add 'you old bitch!'. "Wait a sec. How do you already know about this?"

Professor McGonagall looked at Kurama.

"What the hell, man?"

"Mr. Malfoy had already spread the story around; saying you ambushed him for no reason. I felt the need to give you an appropriate defense when Professor McGonagall asked me for the entire story."

"Professor Dumbledore has already been informed. He has insisted that we let you off with a warning. Were it not for him; you would be in much more trouble." McGonagall said sternly.

"Alright, I get it." Yusuke said.

"Very well. If you are in my house, then I hope not to see you again over similar issues."

"No promises." Yusuke muttered. Professor McGonagall chose to pretend she didn't hear him.

"You both must follow me. Wait here until you are called." She said; finally arriving. They towered above them; earning them interested yet frightened looks.

"The sorting will begin shortly." Professor McGonagall told them all. She returned five minutes later and lead them into the Great Hall. The Sorting Hat was waiting on a stool. Dumbledore stood up.

"I have one short announcement before the sorting begins. As some of you may have already noticed; we have two older students joining our ranks this year. They have come all the way from Japan to study here. I am sure that you will make them feel at home. Let the Sorting begin!" (Yeah, I'm too lazy to type the song)

Yusuke was surprised when the hat started singing; although Kurama seemed to be expecting it, as did most of the students. Soon Professor McGonagall stepped forward and began reading names off of a large scroll.

"Abercrombie, Euan." This continued for some time until someone named Rose Zeller was sorted into Hufflepuff. It was Kurama and Yusuke's turn next.

"Minamino, Shuichi."

Kurama stepped forward and placed the hat on his head. Yusuke noticed alot of girls were suddenly paying close attention with looks that clearly said that they very much wanted Kurama with them.

"_**My...you're a difficult one. You would really be suited for any house, but which one is best...You're hardworking; a trait of Hufflepuff. Let's see, you're the most cunning student ever to place me on their head, so that's points for Slytherin, and you're quite brave too, good for Gryffindor....Dear me! You would put Renowa Ravenclaw to shame with a mind like yours! No question about it, you belong in **_RAVENCLAW!"

Kurama removed the hat from his head and sat down at the Ravenclaw table; many girls didn't stop clapping immediately. Girls in other houses were looking jealous.

"Urameshi, Yusuke." Yusuke registered that he was getting alot less of the looks Kurama had gotten (though there were still a few) as he walked up and placed the hat on his head.

_**"Yes...you'll be much easier. You have a good mind, but not for your studies. You've never even attempted to be cunning; choosing to say exactly what you want. You can be a bit lazy so Hufflepuff doesn't seem to suit you...Oh my! You're quite as shocking as your friend; you're as brave as he is intelligent. There's only one place for you, and that would be **_GRYFFINDOR!"

Yusuke took the hat of and sat down at the cheering Gryffindor table (Ron and Harry clapped loudest to show their appreciation for the pounding he'd given Malfoy) Next to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"I will make my speech when you are all to full to listen. Tuck in!" Dumbledore said to the hall. Food magically appeared on the plates.

"Now that's awesome." Yusuke said. He didn't recognize much of the food, but put tons of it on his plate; being outmatched only by Ron.

"Hmm...this stuff ain't bad." Yusuke said. He'd never had alot of these dishes, but he wasn't one to be close minded; it was food and it was free.

"Yeah; it's always good; get ready to put on a few pounds." Harry said.

"May I sit here?" Kurama voice said.

"Why the hell not?" Yusuke answered. Kurama sat down.

"Umm...students from other houses don't really sit with each other usually."

"Yes; but Yusuke and myself are not a usual case. Besides; your sorting hat _did_ advise that we band together."

"Ok..."

Hermione and Kurama began talking about something; Yusuke was too busy eating to pay attention. Ron seemed slightly annoyed about something. Soon the plates were cleared and dessert appeared; which also passed in time. Dumbledore stood up.

"Now that you are well fed; let me remind you all that the Forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden to all students, all magic is banned in the corridors, as well as a several items that I seem to have lost count of over the years. And since all that is out of the way I believe I should introduce our new staff. First; Professor Grubbly-plank, who will be taking over Care of Magical Creatures for the time being. Next; Professor Dolores Umbridge, who will be you new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Now then-" The squat woman Dumbledore had indicated as Professor Umbridge had interrupted him. Yusuke listened to her for all of three seconds before laying his head down and taking a short nap before going to bed.

Harry looked around. Professor Umbridge had been talking for what seemed like hours. Ron was paying about as much attention as him; the same was true for several people; Harry almost laughed when he saw Yusuke asleep. Hermione and Kurama were paying attention; Kurama's polite smile had been replaced with an unreadable expression.

The speech droned on. Harry's mind was wandering; then people started to stand up. Umbridge had apparently finished talking. Harry tried to wake Yusuke up.

"C'mon. Wake up."

"I'll do it later." Yusuke said in his sleep.

"What?"

Kurama, who had been watching this take place with amusement, stepped forward.

"Yusuke can be quite difficult to wake; though I assure you, there is no need to be gentle." Kurama said before pushing Yusuke's head off the table with enough force to make him fall to the floor.

"S'matter?" Yusuke asked sleepily.

"I believe it is time for us to return to our dormitories for the night."

"Alright." Yusuke said; getting up and showing no signs of having just been thrown to the floor.

Kurama left them at that point to join the Ravenclaws. Harry led Yusuke to the Gryffindor dormitories, they had missed the main crowd, and Ron and Hermione had left to lead the first years.

"Hey, mind tellin' me why more 'en half the people here keep giving you weird looks?" Yusuke asked.

"They...uh...they think I'm a liar." Harry said; glad Yusuke didn't push the issue. It wasn't that he thought Yusuke would turn on him, but giving out the story to someone he had just met fell into the 'attention seeking' persona the Daily Prophet was so fond of.

They arrived at the picture of the Fat Lady.

"Password?"

"Open up or I blast you." Yusuke said; he was tired and not in the mood to play a guessing game with a picture.

"Harry! Guess what the password is! I'm actually going to remember it this time!" He said while excitedly shaking his plant around like it was an unopened Birthday present.

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia" Neville said. The portrait hole swung open and they made their way up to the dormitory. Yusuke went to the bed where his trunk was and began changing into pajamas (Kagome had _advised_ him to be a bit more modest than he was with her).

Ron was walking up the stairs to the Boys Dormitories. Why did half of the first years have to get _lost_? It'd taken them an extra five minutes to round them up. He opened the door to the dormitory.

"Get that stick out of my face or I'm gonna fuckin' snap it in half!"

"What's going on here?" Ron asked; seeing Seamus' wand pointed at Yusuke's face and Harry looking at Seamus angrily.

"They're having a go at my mother!"

"Bullshit! I told you to shut up and you flipped out!"

Well, that cleared Yusuke, but Harry...

"Why would Harry do that? We liked your mother." Ron said; confused.

"That was before she believed every word from the stupid _Dailey Prophet._"

"Oh...right." Ron said.

"The paper's right! Anyone who believes _him_ is either crazy or an idiot!"

Yusuke was about ready to punch Seamus; his restraint was bound to crack soon, he was severely lacking on sleep, he couldn't stand people that blindly believed everything an authority said, not to mention he was missing Kagome.

"Yeah? Well I'm also a prefect, so shut up or get detention."

Seamus quieted down after that; and after everyone had assured Ron they were on Harry's side (except Dean who seemed ambivalent) Yusuke finally lay down and went to sleep. He didn't sleep as well as he would have liked, however; he'd grown accustomed to Kagome being wrapped in his arms while he slept; her not being there had thrown him off.

"How the bloody hell do we wake him up???" Ron asked; frustrated after prodding Yusuke and getting no effect except Yusuke mumbling in his sleep. Harry contemplated their options; if they didn't hurry, they'd miss breakfast. Well, Kurama said there was no need to be gentle. He tipped Yusuke's mattress.

"Mornin'." Yusuke yawned; rubbing his eyes.

"About time you got up. Let's go get breakfast." Ron said. Yusuke changed at top speed and left with them. They met Hermione in the Common room.

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked Harry; seeing his slightly annoyed expression.

"Seamus thinks he's lying about You-Know-Who."

"You mean Voldemort; right?" Yusuke asked; Ron and Hermione flinched.

"What's wrong?"

"You said his name." Harry supplied.

"Voldemort's name?" Ron and Hermione flinched again.

"Yes." Ron said through gritted teeth.

"What's wrong with saying Voldemort?" Yusuke couldn't understand why they'd freak out over a name. It wasn't like he freaked out every time someone said Toguro or Sensui; he'd only get scared if someone said 'Oh my God! Toguro and Sensui are back from the dead and want to kill you!', but not just their names.

"Most people don't like to hear his name." Harry said.

"What the hell? It doesn't look like anything bad happens when you say it."

"For the record, I have no problem saying Voldemort." Harry said.

"At least _you_ have some balls." Yusuke said. He wasn't going to stop saying Voldemort. He moved on ahead; wanting to get away from the other two because their irrational fear was annoying him.

"He is so...vulgar!" Hermione said; Yusuke's comment about the male anatomy had been what had gotten to her.

"Ah, c'mon Hermione, he's alright." Ron said.

"Yeah, who cares if he has a dirty mouth?" Harry asked; Yusuke had jumped to his defense last night with Seamus, as far as he was concerned Yusuke's language was highly excusable. They arrived in the Great Hall and found Yusuke sitting at the Gryffindor table talking to Kurama (they had missed the owls, it seemed). They sat down next to him and listened to the disagreement they were having.

"Yusuke, I do not have time this morning. You will need to wait until after classes end."

"What about at lunch? I don't need to eat."

"No, Yusuke. You will just have to wait."

"So I gotta walk around like this all day?" Yusuke asked, indicating his hair.

"Yes; you do." Kurama said with finality.

"And here I thought I would get to get rid of all this." Yusuke said.

"I promise you I will take care of it this evening."

"Fine." said Yusuke.

Hermione began talking to Kurama again; not wanting to hear more of Yusuke's swearing. They were talking about what classes they would be going to that day; Kurama had asked Professor Flitchwick for his schedule immediately upon entering the Great Hall. Kurama left when Professor McGonagall came around to pass out schedules.

"Wow...this has got to be the absolute worst Monday ever."

"So, welcome to Hogwarts, mate, you get to sit in on our worst classes." Ron said to Yusuke.

"Binns, Snape, that Umbridge woman, and Trelawney, all in one day."

"They won't be worse then the teachers at my last school." Yusuke said. Harry and Ron's eyes met; Yusuke would know soon enough. They set off for History of Magic soon after. They arrived and took their seats as they waited for Professor Binns. He floated through the chalkboard as usual. He began to lecture in his droning tone.

"Couldn't you _try_ to pay attention? You're making us look bad." Hermione whispered; whatever she thought about Yusuke, she didn't want him to see them as lazy and unintelligent. After all, to be selected to be in an exchange program you had to be smart; right, so wouldn't Yusuke be taking notes attentively?

"What do ya' mean?"

"Well, I would guess that Yusuke, despite how he acts, is going to be paying alot of attention."

"Guess again." said Harry; glancing back at Yusuke. He hadn't been able to fit at the same table as them, and was at the one behind them. He was using his hair as a pillow and was fast asleep. Yusuke mumbled a little bit, but everyone was too caught up in their daydreaming to notice. Hermione said nothing more.

Yusuke woke up with the bell; miraculously. They began walking down to the dungeons. Harry was really hoping Snape wouldn't be too horrible to Yusuke; he liked Yusuke, and didn't want to see him expelled for assaulting a teacher.

Snape gave his usual speech about how they would be creating potions more difficult then anything they had ever attempted before.

"Today, we will be making the Draught of Peace. This will be the most difficult potion any of you have ever attempted. The instructions are on the board. Begin."

Yusuke had learned absolutely nothing about potion making. He hadn't gone over that at any point. He began trying to make his potion, he was the second worst in the class (Neville's cauldron seemed to be melting). Snape however had chosen to torment Harry instead. There was a number of negative adjectives that could be applied to Snape; stupid was not one of them; judging by how Yusuke had treated Malfoy; taunting him was a very bad idea, and Snape had no desire to duel a student. He'd have to think of some other way to punish him. Yusuke left the class with a 'P'.

"I can't believe he failed you for that!" Ron said to Harry as they left.

"Yeah, I think I left out about half of that crap."

"Yeah, well, Snape hates me, everyone hates him, so I guess that makes us even."

"That's the spirit!" Yusuke said, clapping Harry on the back. They went to lunch; Kurama had apparently chosen to sit with the Ravenclaws. After lunch Harry, Ron, and Yusuke left for divination.

"So this is fortune telling class? Sounds like a load of crap to me." Yusuke said; he had never met anyone that could _really_ see the future.

"There are some people that can actually do it; but our teacher can't really." Ron said. They ascended into the class. People slowly filed in until the class started. Professor Trelawney stepped out of the shadows. Yusuke was unsurprised; he'd sensed someone there. Harry noticed Yusuke's lack of being startled; he'd been surprised the first time she had done it; why did Yusuke seem to have expected it?

"Hello, it is nice to see you all in the physical realm again." Professor Trelawney said; walking around.

"This term, we will begin studying dream interpretation." She continued to walk between the tables; she stopped in front of Yusuke.

"You have an aura of death about you." She said; suddenly dark. Lavender and Parvati gasped and gave Yusuke pitying expressions. Yusuke burst out laughing.

"You have no freakin' idea how right you are." He said. Professor Trelawney looked like she couldn't decide if she should be angry about his laughter, or pleased that he had accepted her warning so quickly.

"Yes...right...Dream interpretation." She said finally; Yusuke still snickering slightly. She passed out the books and set them to work trying to interpret each other's dreams. The only dream Yusuke could remember was not one he was willing to share; he didn't even want to think about that nightmare that had been so terrifying. He didn't want to think about Kagome lying dead in a pool of blood while Naraku laughed maniacally.

"Yusuke? You alright?" Harry asked; Yusuke had begun to dwell on the dream and had been giving a vacant expression.

"Yeah..."

"Don't worry about her predicting your death. She's done it to me at least thirty times."

"Nah; that's not buggin' me."

"_He's dead; I don't have to worry about that." _Yusuke told himself (I am NOT implying Naraku is coming back). Yusuke remained in a daze until the end of class.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts now." Harry said; shooting a sideways glance at Yusuke. He seemed to be in a strange mood; he didn't seem to be lying when he said it wasn't the death prediction that had bothered him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ron asked.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just thinkin' about a nightmare I had." Yusuke said before sinking into the fake stair.

"The hell?"

"Oh, sorry, we forgot to tell you, you gotta look out for those." Harry said. Him and Ron had both skipped the stair out of habit. Yusuke pulled himself out. The incident with the fake stair had brought Yusuke back to normal, at least.

"Finally, a class where we actually get to do magic." Ron said as they arrived at the classroom. They took their seats next to Hermione. Much to her displeasure she was sitting next to Yusuke. She didn't hate Yusuke, but her first impression of him was a foul-mouthed hooligan who solved everything with violence.

"Good Afternoon, Class." Said Professor Umbridge after walking in. There was a disconnected acknowledgement of her greeting.

"That won't do at all. When I say 'good afternoon' I expect you all to say 'Good Afternoon, Professor Umbridge'; let's try that again."

"Good Afternoon, Professor Umbridge." The class (except Yusuke) chorused. Umbridge almost immediately started to criticize the previous teachers. After her speech was over she instructed them copy down the course aims and then to read the first chapter of their books. Yusuke, having no desire to do so, began looking around the room. His attention was caught by Hermione's hand in the air. This surprised him because he'd had her pegged as the bookwormish type that would never disobey a teacher. After most of the class had noticed this as well, Umbridge acknowledged her.

"Did you want to ask a question about the chapter, dear?" She asked in a falsely sweet voice.

"Not about the chapter, no." Hermione responded.

"Any other queries can be addressed at the end of class."

"I have a query about your course aims."

"Your name is-?

"Hermione Granger."

"Well Miss Grander, I think the course aims are perfectly clear."

"Well, I don't," Hermione said bluntly. "There's nothing about _using _defensive spells."

"Why, I can't imagine a situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell. You can't be expecting to be attacked during class, can you?" Umbridge never answered Hermione's question. After several more people asked the same question, however, Umbridge could not ignore it. She somehow ended up criticizing the previous teachers of the class; Hermione noticed a flicker of anger cross Yusuke's face when she mentioned 'extremely dangerous half-breeds'. She continued giving terrible reasoning for the non-usage of magic.

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough-"

"What good is theory going to do us in the real world?"

"This is school, Mr. Potter, not the real world."

"So we're not supposed to be ready for what's waiting for us?"

"There is nothing out there, Mr. Potter."

"That's a load of crap." Yusuke spoke up.

"Five points, Mr. Urameshi." She paused a moment. "Who do you think would want to attack school children?"

"Lord Voldemort?" Harry said.

"Another ten points from Gryffindor."

"You have all been informed that a certain dark wizard has returned from the dead. This is a lie."

"It is NOT a lie! I saw him, I fought him!"

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge paused a moment, "There is no truth in these rumors. Please continue reading chapter one."

Harry was on his feet. Hermione tried to get him to sit back down, but to no avail.

"Cedric Diggory died of his own accord then, did he?" Harry's voice was shaking.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident."

"It was murder; Voldemort killed him and you know it!"

There was a pause.

"Come here, Mr. Potter." She handed him something and Yusuke saw him walk out.

"So; you never answered his question. What about Voldemort? He could definitely attack us poor defenseless school children." Yusuke said; trying to anger her. He couldn't stand her; she was _worse_ then his old teachers. It wasn't so much that she had kicked Harry out; it was the principle of the thing. There was also the fact that he _knew_ she was wrong. He thought Harry was alright, but he wasn't good enough friends with him yet to get angry purely on his behalf.

"Come here, Mr. Urameshi." She said. She scribbled a note. "You should go visit Professor McGonagall as well."

"Anything to get outta this shit-hole." He said; walking out.

He eventually found his way to Professor McGonagall (Harry shouting at Peeves had been a good indicator of which direction to go); he arrived just as Harry was leaving.

"Why are you here?" He asked; his curiosity outweighing his anger.

"I couldn't stand the bitch any longer." He answered before walking in.

"You too? Fine, give me the note." Professor McGonagall said exasperatedly.

"You defended Potter?" She asked.

"Kinda..." That had just been a fortunate side-effect of his 'conversation' with Umbridge.

She looked at him.

"Please; it would be inadvisable for you to get involved. There is more to this then you know."

"Never stopped me before."

Professor McGonagall sighed. This kid was stubborn.

"She has given you one night of detention. Professor Dumbledore will not be able to get you out of this one, I'm afraid."

"Damn."

"I suggest you go to dinner now."

Yusuke took her advice on dinner. He met Kurama at the Gryffindor table next to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Yusuke, please attempt to keep your anger in check." Kurama said to him. He knew that Yusuke would calm down in a few days, when he'd gotten used to Hogwarts and being away from Kagome.

"Yeah, yeah. You gonna cut my hair tonight?"

"I did promise. After dinner, Yusuke." Kurama said.

* * *

Sorry about that chapter, I was kinda limited with what I could do with this chapter specifically, and I don't like to be limited. Next chapter should be good. I have a lot of stuff planned. Hope you found a small amount of enjoyment in there.


	6. Adjusting

Sorry these chapters are taking so long; I've been getting buried in schoolwork. Enjoy and Please review!

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CrimsonVixen: Yusuke and Kurama are roughly at the strength they were after defeating Sensui, maybe a bit stronger. Yoko and Kurama are one, but occasionally Kurama will act distinctly more Yoko-ish. Thank you for liking my story. Thanks for the review!

Raine: C'mon, Kagome's a smart girl. She knew he was just keeping it like that for her. Thanks for the review!

Reads-way-2-much: Ok, but I'll give you the super condensed version 'cuz I'm tired and wanna go to bed. Basically, the same part of the brain that is responsible for fear is also the same part that reacts when you fall in love; so fear kinda helps love along. I had Yusuke and Kagome meet with Yusuke saving from some attackers. Worked out well, considering they fell in love kinda fast…in less you believe in love at first sight, but I've begun to ramble. Thanks for the review!

Time on my hands: I just take issue with some things I write, I've only ever taken something down once, though. By the way, with Hermione, I almost went in the opposite direction; making Hermione having a crush on Yusuke and him being oblivious. I think it works either way, on one hand, you have a girl growing up in probably advanced classes at the best schools, who would never have come across anyone as abrasive as Yusuke; but then again, that might make her equally as attracted to him. Thanks for the review!

Everqueen: I'm glad you enjoy my stories so much. I hate Umbridge too. By the way 'umbra' is the Latin word for 'shadow', am I the only one that sees the connection? Thanks for the review!

Rahzenshia: I just didn't like last chapter much. Oh well, I'm glad you guys enjoyed it. All your other questions are answered this chapter. I think you guys deserve me responding to your reviews. They really help me along. Keep reviewing and I'll keep responding. Thanks for the review!

Flame: Alas, he has to keep his powers secret, but he'll get his not-so-subtle revenge sooner or later. Thanks for the review!

* * *

It was Yusuke's fourth day at Hogwarts. He hadn't had his detention with Umbridge yet; she was waiting for Harry to finish all of his first. The last couple of days had passed by easily enough; Yusuke hadn't beaten anyone else up, not yet at least. Yusuke had been a little surprised when the owls had arrived on the second day (having missed them the first day). Today, that is not what caught him off guard. Today it was the small speck of blue among the multicolored owls that landed in front of him.

"Puu? What the hell are-?" Yusuke stopped. Puu had two letters. Yusuke grabbed them and opened the first one.

_Dimwit,_

_I know you can't handle too much information at once, so I'll keep this short. You won't be able to train properly up there, so the least we can hope for is that you don't go weak on us. Meditate every day; I'll know if you haven't, and I'll make your life a living hell for it. Find your own way to keep your body in shape. I'll be asking Kurama whether you have or not, so no slacking. I don't want to have to retrain your lazy ass. Don't write back, I'm enjoying the peace._

Genkai hadn't even signed it, but she really didn't need to.

"Old bitch." Yusuke muttered; earning a glare from Hermione that he didn't notice. He opened the second envelope. This one was much more pleasant, and it made Yusuke happier just seeing the handwriting.

_Yusuke,_

_You already cut your hair, didn't you? I know you did. I would ask if you're being good too, but we both know the answer to that.  
I wish you were here; I got used to sleeping with you. I know that you have to frustrated, and I would come to visit if I could. According to Dumbledore, Enma ordered that I can't go up there unless I have to. Dumbledore thinks this will 'demoralize you and make you an extremely ineffective guard'.  
I'm thinking of going back to the feudal era soon; I mean, they've had no word from us since we beat Naraku, and the last thing I want is Inuyasha showing up in public again. It was a fiasco last time...actually, it is every time he shows up and I'm not home.  
I know that this school doesn't really matter to you, but study, ok? And try and keep out of trouble, please. I'll feel better if I know you're not making life harder for yourself.  
Tell Kurama I said hi._

_Love,  
Kagome_

_P.S. Did you find my present?_

Yusuke, overjoyed about hearing from Kagome, had completely missed the hint she had dropped. He tucked the letter into the inner pocket of his robe; making a mental note to respond later.

"Right, well, I'm going to class." Yusuke said cheerily. He left the Great Hall quickly.

"I should go after him. I doubt he knows where he is going." Kurama said; rising and calmly walking after Yusuke. The three waited until he was gone.

"That second letter put him in a good mood." Ron said; Yusuke had been slightly broodish before the letter's arrival.

"Yeah...I wonder what it was about..."

"It was a love letter." Hermione said; she looked odd. She was surprised at how happy Yusuke had looked after getting the letter. Yusuke hadn't really struck her as the romantic type.

"What?" Harry and Ron said in unison.

"How can you tell that? I know you're smart, Hermione, but there is no way you can read those symbols." Ron said (Yusuke had spread it out on the table, making it hard not to glance at).

"It's called Kanji, Ron. And no, I couldn't read it." She responded; she decided to start learning basic Japanese, just to show she could.

"Then how-?"

"Just trust me." She said; it was just something she could tell without much evidence.

The day dragged on; not that Harry minded, as he was in no hurry to get to Umbridge's detention. Nothing of real interest happened after breakfast. That night Yusuke sat down in the common room; he was almost alone, Harry was in detention and he had no idea where Ron had gone. He was left with just Hermione for company. Apparently, being Harry's friend and believing Voldemort was alive limited the amount of friends you cold make at Hogwarts; then again, Yusuke had never had too many friends. He began writing his response to Kagome.

_Kagome,_

_Yeah, I had Kurama lob it all off on our first day. I'm just glad I remembered my hair gel.  
Not much goes on here; I'm getting bored. I'm doing all my homework...apparently they can give you detention for not doing it here. This place sucks. I want you to be here. I hate Enma for doing this. I know it sounds corny, but I miss you already. I'm having trouble sleeping. Oh well, I guess I'll see you over Christmas at least, we get to go home for a little around that time.  
I've been thinking...do you think Puu can go through the well? He's supposed to be my reflection, so there's a chance of it at least.  
Sorry I don't have much to say...give Inuyasha a good kick in the ass for me, ok?_

_Love,  
Yusuke_

Yusuke noticed after finishing the letter that he had written in English.

"Hey, how long do translation charms work if you don't use them?" He asked Hermione. She was caught off guard; her and Yusuke hadn't spoken.

"Oh...umm...well, it shouldn't make a difference."

"Good, I don't gotta rewrite this then." Yusuke said; before going to the window and opening it. Puu was there almost instantly.

"You know where to take it." He said, "Be quick."

"Puuuuu." The spirit beast took off. Yusuke sat back down. He went to bed before either Harry or Ron had come back. The next day Yusuke went to watch the Quidditch tryouts. He wished he could have been one of the ones trying out; flying looked like fun. Ron seemed to be fairly good by comparison to everyone else there. Ron seemed to have been named the Keeper. Yusuke joined the party in the common room. One of Ron's brothers (Yusuke couldn't tell the two apart) offered him a Butterbeer, which he refused. He didn't care how little alcohol it had in it; the last (and only) time he had gotten drunk he had ended up in the middle of the woods, passed out, and woken up to find Kurama; who had decided _not_ to give him anything for his hangover.

Yusuke woke up early on Saturday; he had something planned. He waved to Harry, who was sitting in an armchair writing something, and left. He made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. On the way something very heavy fell on his head and shattered.

"What the hell was that?" He said; looking up. He saw a small man floating in the air. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had told him about this. This was Peeves.

"Get down here so I can beat the crap outta you!" Yusuke yelled at the poltergeist.

"HAHA! You're A Messy wants to play!" said Peeves before taking off in the opposite direction. He made a mistake, though; he turned his back to Yusuke.

"Asshole." Yusuke said; taking careful aim with his right index finger.

"Spirit Gun." Yusuke said lazily; firing an extremely low-power blast. It hit its mark dead-on.

"I'll get you for-for-for whatever that was!" The poltergeist cursed before flying away.

That had made Yusuke feel better; he couldn't remember the last time he'd fired his Spirit Gun. Yusuke found Kurama among the few people in the Great Hall...

Harry left the owlery in high spirits. He'd just had a successful meeting with Cho Chang. He found Ron and Hermione and went to breakfast. He noticed Yusuke and Kurama weren't there; he knew Yusuke had left the common room earlier. He got distracted by his plate, however, and did not think on it further. He and Ron were going to go practice Quidditch after breakfast; the day was perfect for it. Towards the end of his meal he saw someone run into the Great Hall and yell something up the table; he couldn't hear though, since he was on the other side of the hall. Several people ran out of the Great Hall. Harry didn't make any effort to hurry. Him and Ron left the Great Hall five minutes later.

"Hey...what'd ya' think that huge crowd by the lake is about?" Ron asked, he seemed interested enough to put off Quidditch. They went to investigate. What they saw took them by surprise. There, next to the lake were Yusuke and Kurama battling fiercely.

Yusuke had taken Genkai's advice to heart (not wanting to train under her again) and had decided that the best way to keep in shape was to fight; him and Kurama couldn't use Spirit Energy for it, but at least they wouldn't get weak. Of course, no one knew that this was a friendly spar.

"What the-? I thought they were friends!" Ron said. Harry kept watching. These two weren't fighting like anything he'd ever seen before. They both had to be experts at hand-to-hand combat. Kurama's moves seemed graceful and precise; some very refined form of martial arts. Yusuke did not seem to adhere to any style; it seemed more or less like street fighting without any dirty moves. Both Yusuke and Kurama were dressed in muggle clothes; Yusuke still had his shirt on, amazingly.

All around him, Harry heard people placing bets.

"Five Galleons on Urameshi!"

"Four Galleons on Minamino!"

Kurama delivered a two-palmed blow to Yusuke's chest; to which Yusuke responded with a right hook to Kurama's jaw. Kurama fell.

"Bang!" Yusuke said happily; pointing his right index finger at Kurama like a gun before helping him up. "One-Nothin'!"

"What?" Ron said; thoroughly confused. Yusuke and Kurama took their places opposite each other in the circle that had formed around them.

"Let's go!" Yusuke said; charging at Kurama, who stood still. Kurama dodged Yusuke's first attack and the second. Kurama managed to get a kick in, followed by a palm-punch. The fight wore on for another fifteen minutes. Kurama knocked Yusuke to the ground. His right hand moved into his hair.

"I have won. The score is tied, Yusuke." Kurama said. Most people got it now; they were sparring. It was still quite entertaining to watch. By the time their fifth match came, the crowd had at least doubled. Almost half of the school was there now...including _Dumbledore_?

Dumbledore was watching with an expression of great interest. Professor McGonagall walked up to him with a shocked expression on her face.

"Albus, aren't you going to stop them?"

"No, Minerva, I am not. They do not seem to mean each other harm, and they both look like they are thoroughly enjoying themselves." Dumbledore said. It was true; Yusuke was wearing a broad grin and Kurama was wearing his usual polite smile. The battle might have looked brutal, but neither had drawn blood yet. Harry and Ron left after that fight (Kurama was now one behind) to practice, although it was hard to leave the awe-inspiring battle. By the time Harry and Ron returned to the castle for lunch, the crowd had dissipated. Yusuke and Kurama were still going strong.

"Bloody hell! How can anyone keep fighting like that for so long?" Ron said. Harry didn't have an answer. They quickly ate lunch and set out for Quidditch practice. By the time they were done practicing Yusuke and Kurama were gone.

When they returned to the common room they saw Yusuke dead asleep in an armchair by the fire. They couldn't say they were surprised. They began working on their homework. Yusuke didn't wake up when Ron received a letter from his brother, Percy. Though he did mutter "You shoulda spit in it and sent it back..." in his sleep after Ron had thrown it into the fire. It was a few hours later when Yusuke woke up to the smell of some kind of alcohol. He didn't open his eyes right away.

"Don't worry, Sirius, he won't wake up. We have to tip his mattress over every morning to get him up."

"Ok..."

"Am I the only one that smells firewhiskey?" Ron piped up.

"Probably not, I had to wrestle a bottle of my mother's favorite brand away from Kreacher...it got everywhere..."

The conversation carried on for a while; not one of them noticing Yusuke was awake and listening intently. He didn't see it as eavesdropping since they had started the conversation with him there in the first place. He felt his hatred for Umbridge rise a little. They went on for only a little bit longer before...

"So...when's your next Hogsmeade weekend? I wanted to come up and see you as Snuffles."

"NO!" Harry and Hermione said together.

"Didn't you see the _Prophet_ today?"

"Oh, _that._ They're always guessing where I am, when they don't really have a clue." Sirius said; rolling his eyes.

"Sirius, please! It's too dangerous! I want to see you again, but its too risky." Harry pleaded.

"You're less like your father then I thought. The risk would have made it fun for James."

"Look-"

"Well, I'd better go; I think I can hear Kreacher coming down the stairs. I'll try and catch you in the fire again; if you can stand to risk it, that is." He said; before disappearing with a small 'pop'.

"I don't think he liked that." Yusuke said; all three of them looked at him in horror.

"H-how long have you been awake?" Hermione asked.

"About the time Harry said I wouldn't wake up. Why?" Yusuke said, "I mean, it's pretty obvious that that guy's on the run, but why should I give a shit? Don't worry; I'll keep my mouth shut."

Yusuke went up to bed after that; sick of them staring at him. Downstairs, the three were discussing Yusuke.

"Do you think we can trust him?"

"Doesn't matter now, does it? He already knows."

"I think its alright..." Harry said; Yusuke really didn't seem the type to lie to cover himself, not to mention Harry was fairly certain Yusuke lived with muggles and had probably never heard of Sirius.

Monday came; Umbridge had been named 'High Inquisitor', which pissed Yusuke off. Harry ended up with another detention. But this one was put off a day so that Yusuke could serve his. That night, Yusuke made his way down to 'the toad's' office.

"Ok, I'm here, what do I do?"

"You will write: 'I must not disrupt class'."

"For how long?"

"Oh, we'll see." She said, handing him a quill. The instant Yusuke began to write he burst out laughing. There were no words on the parchment.

"Something amusing, Mr. Urameshi?"

"It tickles."

"What?" Umbridge asked, sounding angry. She looked at the paper and at Yusuke's hand. "Do it again." she said. She could only endure five more minutes of it; Yusuke showed no signs of the quill using his blood or cutting his flesh. He spent the next two hours sitting completely still in silence.

"You may go." Umbridge said; extremely frustrated. She hadn't bought any other quill, so Yusuke hadn't been able to be punished properly. She would have to think of something else. Yusuke left and ran into Harry on his way back to the common room.

"What's up?" Yusuke asked him.

"Nothing really...how was detention?" Harry asked, he had to find out if Umbridge had only used the quill on him.

"Boring, she made me sit there and do nothing. At first she wanted me to write something; but the feather-thing tickled the back of my hand, and that pissed her off for some reason." Yusuke hadn't used a quill at all; Kurama had bought pens instead, anticipating Yusuke's refusal to use a quill.

"That's it?"

"Yeah...but I think it was supposed to do something else..." Yusuke said; sensing an ulterior motive. Harry was shocked, that almost had to be the quill she had made him use, but why hadn't Yusuke been affected? Was he just that tough?

Wednesday came; Yusuke was actually having a good day until potions.

"Mr. Urameshi, you failed the latest homework assignment. Detention Friday."

"_Damn it."_ Yusuke thought. Snape didn't seem satisfied with that though; he made Yusuke test the potion they made that day.

"Bastard." Yusuke said after leaving the dungeon.

"Told ya' he'd get you back for Malfoy." Ron said.

"Bite me."

That night at dinner; Yusuke was still in a bad mood about Snape. He slammed his fork and knife down on the table and said quite loudly...

"I'm gonna kick that fucker's ass!"

"That's IT!" Hermione said; storming out of the Great Hall. Kurama followed her.

"I assume it was Yusuke's course language that offended you."

"Why does he talk like that? You two are so different I can't see how you can be friends!" She said; barely realizing what she was saying. She realized her mistake when Kurama's face darkened.

"Yusuke...did me a great service, risking his own well-being in the process, and has since earned my respect and friendship. I can tell it is hard for you, but please tolerate him. He...has not had an easy life...do not judge him too harshly. You will find he is a very good person underneath it all."

"I'm sorry." She said. She liked Kurama alot, and she could tell that he had been offended by her attitude. Kurama gave a polite smile.

"There is no need to apologize. You were merely caught up in your emotions." He returned to the Great Hall; leaving Hermione to stew in her guilt. She had never really given Yusuke a chance, and she had to admit that he had a few redeeming qualities. She attempted to be nicer to Yusuke from that point on.

It was Friday. Yusuke, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just finished classes, and were out in the courtyard, enjoying the mild weather.

"Hey, Yusuke, want a go on my broom tonight?"

"Hell yeah!" Yusuke said. "Oh, wait...Snape gave me that damn detention for failing the stupid homework."

"Hn. So they actually punish you for your stupidity here? Hearing that almost makes it worth listening to the Reaper's mindless rambling."

* * *

There it is, sorry its kinda short, but I wanted to end it there. Again, I'm sorry for the delay, all my classes are piling on the work, and I can really only afford to neglect a little bit of it. I know my timeline is a bit off, butplease bear with it. Hope you enjoyed, please review!


	7. An Army is Born

How long's it been? Two weeks? Sorry for the delay, I keep getting more work. Not sure how I feel about this chapter, I love parts of it, but I hate parts of it too. I kinda shorthanded alot in this chapter, I haven't had much time to write (somehow it still came out long). Enjoy and please review!

Raine: Well, you'll just have to read and see. Thanks for the review!

Everqueen: I gave Yusuke detention just so I could put that in there. Thanks for the review!

Reads-way-2-much: Well, you're another one that just has to read and see. But no, Kagome isn't there with him. Thanks for the review!

Jessica: It didn't work because his spirit energy protects him from magic. Thanks for the review!

Flame: Here ya' go. Thanks for the review!

Time on my hands: I liked the sparring too, and now Hiei is here, with a sword. Had fun with that. As for Harry asking; don't you think that it's more likely that the golden trio will put their heads together and come to their own conclusion? Like, say right after Yusuke does something that they are like "what the hell?". Not this chapter, before you ask, by the way. My schedule should slow down a bit this week, what with Thanksgiving and all, so I may be able to grind out another chapter sometime during the week. Thanks for the review!

Rahzenshia: Yeah, I debated over putting that in or not, but I decided that it made sense and to drop a few hints here and there. Not saying when Kagome's going to appear again. Thanks for the review!

Fk306 animelover: Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review!

CrimsonVixon: Hmm, I can only say thanks so many times in one response, so here's an all encompassing "thanks for the review!"

Krazyfelinelover: I'm glad you enjoyed my previous fic enough to follow it to the sequel. Thanks for the review!

* * *

"Hn. So they actually punish you for your stupidity here? Hearing that almost makes it worth listening to the Reaper's mindless rambling." Said a voice behind the four of them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stopped in their tracks; Yusuke kept walking.

"Cram it, three-eyes, I'm not in the mood." He said; he walked a few more steps before...

"HIEI! What the hell are you doing here? Did you miss me or something?"

"Hardly." Hiei switched to Japanese, "Did it occur to you that I _might _have been sent here?"

"Jeeze; someone shove _another_ stick up your ass?"

"Fool. You're speaking English." Hiei switched back to English, "Where's the Fox? I assumed he'd be with you."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were being completely ignored.

"He's probably at dinner..."

"Very specific, Detective." Hiei said sarcastically. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other; this guy didn't seem too friendly.

"This is Harry, Ron, and Hermione, by the way." He said, waving at them nonchalantly.

"What gave you the idea that I cared?"

"You don't have to be such a dick."

"Take me to the fox; after being stuck with the Oaf for so long I have a desire to speak with someone capable of an intelligent thought."

"Fuck you." Yusuke said as they changed course for the Great Hall. Hermione, though heavily offended by Hiei's words, did not say anything. They sat at the Gryffindor table and were joined by Kurama almost at once.

"Hiei, this is certainly a surprise." Kurama said. Hiei and Kurama began talking in Japanese (Kurama doing most of the talking). Hermione addressed Yusuke.

"Is Hiei always like that?"

"More or less. He actually seems worse then usual today...probably because he's away from his s-."

"Finish that word, Detective, and you die." Hiei interrupted; apparently he had been listening. Yusuke got quiet; he wasn't afraid of Hiei, but if they started fighting for real they would both end up revealing their powers. Yusuke finished eating quickly and left the Hall; Hiei and Kurama followed him. They met Dumbledore in the next corridor.

"If you three would please come with me." He said to the trio. Hiei hesitated.

"Come, Hiei; I'm sure this will be much quicker if you would simply accompany us." Kurama reasoned with the silent demon. Hiei hesitated a second more and followed. They arrived at Dumbledore's office shortly.

"What's up, old man?" Yusuke asked as soon as they were in the office; paying no attention to many of the strange objects in there.

"I merely want to bring you all up to speed."

"Hn. Does that mean that you're going to tell me _why_ I was sent to this wretched place?"

"Yes, I am." Dumbledore said; choosing to ignore the slight on his school.

"Your employer thought it would be wise to have an extra member of your team here as often as possible, in case of a sudden large-scale attack. Since it would be conspicuous for them to be here while they are supposed to be attending a school of their own, this shall most likely be kept to only weekends."

"And what if Japan is attacked? I don't think Kuwabara can handle that much on his own..." Yusuke said.

"The S.D.F. Yusuke." Kurama stated; having had figured everything out from the moment of Hiei's arrival.

"Those guys are worthless."

"Beside the point." Kurama said; trying to give the floor back to Dumbledore. "Did you have anything to add?"

"No." Dumbledore said; he looked at Hiei; trying to get a read on him.

"I don't know who you _think_ you're dealing with; but if you intend to keep your eyes in your head, then I would not do that again, Human."

"My apologies. A bad habit I fear I may not be able to break." Dumbledore said calmly, but it didn't take a genius to realize something from Hiei's words; he wasn't human. And knowing of their existence, that could only mean...

"Lord Koenma did not inform me that there was a demon on the team." He said pleasantly.

"He didn't?" Yusuke asked.

"I suggest you discuss the matter further with Koenma. He can be persuaded."

"I shall. Thank you."

"If you have nothing to add, I believe we'll take our leave; I'm afraid me and Yusuke's absence will not go unnoticed."

"Yes, by all means." Dumbledore said. The three left.

"Hn. The Old Fool tried to read my mind."

"I surmised as much."

"Why do you care? Not like he's our enemy."

"You may have nothing floating around in _your_ mind, Detective, but I do."

"Hiei, wizards are not capable of hearing a person's thoughts acutely. He was most likely trying to figure if you were trustworthy. Something that would have been easier had you not threatened him."

"Whatever, I don't care if he trust me or not." Hiei paused for a moment. "Detective, I am allotting you breakfast tomorrow morning; _try_ not to be late. We will use the bank of the lake opposite this castle so I don't have to suffer through a crowd of humans watching us."

"Umm...what?"

"Your sword training. Fool."

"Oh yeah!"

"You shouldn't be excited; you are going to make up for all the time lost."

"Whatever, shorty. I gotta go to detention."

Yusuke made his way to Snape's office. He was forced to put all of Snape's ingredients in new jars; he "accidentally" dropped a few, losing points from Gryffindor in the process. When he returned to Gryffindor tower later that night Harry hadn't arrived back from his detention with Umbridge yet. Yusuke went to bed; Ron and Hermione seemed to be having a private conversation. He awoke early the next morning, left the tower, and saw Kurama in the Great Hall. He sat down with him (when Yusuke's Gryffindor friends weren't present he generally sat at the Ravenclaw table with him).

"What time do you get here every morning? It's like dawn."

"Dawn was two hours ago Yusuke, and I daresay that was when Hiei wanted to begin. You should hurry." Kurama said calmly. Yusuke crammed a piece of toast in his mouth and ran out into the grounds.

"I told you not to be late."

"Sorrrrry, I didn't think you would want to start at dawn. Some of us need to sleep, Hiei."

"I did not want to start at dawn, I wanted to begin well before that."

"Ok, I'm here. Let's start."

"No, you made me wait, I'm making you wait." Hiei said. He was really only waiting for Kurama who was just leaving the castle. Kurama arrived.

"We can begin; put your sword aside for a moment; I want to see if you are still up to the task of challenging me."

Yusuke took his sword from its hiding place (under his shirt and partly down a pant leg), set it against a tree, and wasted no time; him and Hiei were pounding each other in seconds...

Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way down to breakfast.

"I wonder where Yusuke and Kurama went this morning." Hermione said, "Can you believe the rumors that were flying around about them last weekend?" Harry and Ron had forgotten to confirm the rumors about those two because of Ron's poor performance at practice.

"Umm...those were true."

"What???"

"Yeah; they were going at it all day; it was pretty cool to watch. I wonder if they're gonna fight that Hiei guy today..."

"Someone that small? I doubt it."

"They were _fighting_?" She couldn't believe it; well, she'd believe it of Yusuke, but Kurama was so polite and kind; how could he be a fighter?

"Yeah, they were sparring." Harry said. "We should go see if they're doing it again."

After much convincing, and assurances that neither had so much as bled last time, Hermione agreed to go watch; Ron had cleverly referred to it as a learning experience.

"Hmm...they aren't here..." Harry said, looking at the spot they had used last week.

"Is that them across the lake?" Ron asked. They went to investigate; they saw a completely different fight from before.

Yusuke and Hiei weren't smiling, both's faces were screwed up in intense concentration as they matched each other blow for blow. Yusuke's lip was bleeding, Hiei seemed to be bleeding from the head; neither took any notice of the three watching them. Kurama was sitting against a tree watching them.

"There's no way...completely inhuman..." Ron let slip out under his breath.

Five minutes later they both just stopped fighting, there was no winner or loser, these two were almost evenly matched (they were, with the lack of using spirit powers).

"Hn. It seems you haven't slipped _much._" Hiei grabbed his sword and unsheathed it. "Get your sword." He said. Yusuke obeyed; this was the reason he was out here. He went to the tree to retrieve his sword.

"Oh, hey guys. What's up?"

"Hurry up." Hiei demanded, "I will allow you three to watch, but don't expect me to stop if you get in my way." Yusuke grabbed his sword and unsheathed it. Hiei attacked, Yusuke defended a few strikes before the tip of Hiei's blade was at his neck.

Hermione was terrified, these two could really kill each other. Kurama, sensing her fear, went to her. He didn't want her running off to a teacher; Dumbledore might take this a little more seriously. He liked Hermione well enough (as a friend), and it troubled him to see her in that state.

"Don't worry, Hiei is a master swordsman; he will not hurt Yusuke, and Yusuke will not be able to hurt him. If it puts you at ease, I am here to intervene if things get too serious."

"Yeah, they're not hurting each other; besides, how many times in our lives are we going to get to watch a real sword fight?"

They watched; completely entranced, until just before lunch, when there was a particularly close strike by Hiei.

"Are you sure they aren't going to really hurt each other?" Hermione asked worriedly, breaking out of her trance; Yusuke was bleeding, but all his cuts were shallow, Hiei was completely unharmed.

"Absolute-"

"DAMNIT HIEI!" Yusuke yelled; cutting Kurama off. Kurama sighed. Yusuke was bleeding profusely from a deep cut across his face. Hermione gasped.

"That's enough." Kurama said firmly to Hiei and Yusuke; standing between them.

"Why? He's survived far worse than this."

"Out of the way, fox-boy."

Kurama was spared the need to intervene further, however, by the arrival of Puu.

"Hiei, we're takin' a break."

"Hn. Whatever."

_Yusuke,_  
_Hey! First, I wanted to say yes; Puu can definitely go through the well. I'm back in the feudal era now. I think I'll come back soon though; its not the same without Miroku or Sango, Inuyasha says they left to search for Kohaku, but I think they just want to be with each other for a while.  
Inuyasha's been acting weird since I came back though, it's like he doesn't think I can even face a butterfly anymore; he's gotten ridiculously protective, its annoying, really, he freaked out because I tripped the other day.  
We've only found one jewel shard, and that was pure luck. I think we might be looking for a while, but I'm not complaining; considering what we got in exchange.  
Anyway, I hope I get to see you soon. I miss you so much. And please, be careful._

_Love,_

_Kagome_

Kurama and Hiei had apparently been talking to Yusuke the entire time he'd been reading the letter.

"Yusuke, come here." Kurama said; a touch of impatience in his voice.

"Eh?"

"I need to heal that injury before you lose anymore blood."

"Oh, right."

Yusuke let Kurama heal his face, Kurama used his wand, and muttered something.

"Now then; Hiei, I believe that will do for the day. I'm sure that Yusuke has exceeded your expectations if you saw the need to strike in that way."

"Fine by me." Hiei said completely indifferently. Yusuke had indeed bypassed his expectations, and he felt that if they continued that the three watching them might say something to a teacher, which would do nothing but irritate him. Kurama turned to the three.

"If you could keep this a secret it would be greatly appreciated."

Harry and Ron instantly said yes; Hermione only hesitated a fraction of a second. Everyone except Hiei returned to the castle for lunch; he would be scouting the forest for demon activity. Hiei did not return from the forest all day, but as it hadn't gone up in flames yet; he couldn't have encountered anything dangerous. They were making their way down to dinner when Harry couldn't keep his curiosity in check any longer; not after Yusuke's reaction to that letter today.

"Yusuke, if you and your girlfriend are so close, then why'd you bring Kurama along? I mean, he's cool and all, but it doesn't really make sense..." Harry trailed off; afraid by the look on Yusuke's face that he'd gone too far.

"She's a muggle." He answered just as they were passing the Slytherin table; his voice was bitter, as if he thought that shouldn't matter. Kurama had decided that was the best cover in case he was asked this question. As soon as Yusuke's face looked less depressed Harry asked another question.

"And the symbol on that chain, what's it mean?" Harry asked; Yusuke had not taken it off.

"Strength." Yusuke said; inwardly glad that Kagome hadn't gotten him anything embarrassing. Harry cut off the conversation after that, not wanting to upset Yusuke further. Yusuke seemed to cheer up fairly quickly. He wrote back to Kagome later that night.

Yusuke and Hiei continued their sword training the next day, they retreated part-way into the forest so as not to be seen. Kurama, being left out, spent the day with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Next time Yusuke saw Ron he looked irritated about something.

Just under two weeks later (Hiei had shown up one more time since then), and the school seemed to be getting a little excited about something. The word "Hogsmeade" was being used a bit more frequently.

"What's goin' on? Why's everyone so excited lately?" Yusuke asked Hermione; Harry and Ron were at Quidditch practice.

"It's the first Hogsmeade weekend."

"Umm..."

"We occasionally get to go to the village on certain weekends."

"Oh, cool, I was just starting to get bored with this place. They got an arcade?"

"It's an all wizarding village."

"So that'd be a 'no'?"

"Sorry, no arcade."

"Damn."

Hermione hesitated; Yusuke seemed to believe Harry, he had a rebellious streak, and he could definitely be an asset to this plan, besides, if she asked Kurama...

"Hey, there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Shoot."

"Well, me, Harry, and Ron think that we need to take control of the Umbridge situation. We wanted to know if you were interested in joining us."

"You want me to kick her ass or something?"

"No! Nothing like that!" Hermione said a little loudly.

"Well, what then?"

"We're going to have Harry teach everyone who's interested proper defense."

"He really that good?"

"He's the best in the school, and he's done some stuff that makes him know how to deal with danger better than anyone."

_"I doubt he's done more shit then me..."_ "Couldn't hurt." Yusuke said; shrugging.

"One more thing, could you please not tell anyone? This isn't exactly within the rules." Hermione said. Yusuke smiled.

"Knew I liked you guys for a reason! I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Ok..." She gave him the details of the meeting.

Hermione invited Kurama along as well (she saw him quite frequently in the library). He agreed to come as well.

The morning of the Hogsmeade visit held a surprise for Yusuke; he woke up to find a bag of money sitting on top of his trunk. There was a note written in Japanese attached.

_Here is your first payment. I hope you find a use for it._

Dumbledore hadn't signed it for security reasons, but Yusuke knew who it was from; he wasn't a complete moron. He wondered how much was in there...

He went down to breakfast. He lagged behind Harry, Ron, and Hermione a bit, and he got held up leaving the castle as well (he had to have Kurama forge a permission note for him). He was glad he did. The road to the Hog's Head was _almost_ deserted; he was right behind the three of them now. Yusuke sensed three people approaching. He had a pretty good feeling who they were too. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle stepped out from next to a shop.

"Got you now, Potter! Petrificus Totalus!" Malfoy yelled; he'd thought this would be the perfect ambush: there were no teachers or other students around, and in his arrogance, he had failed to look around for any other dangers.

Harry hadn't drawn his wand yet.

"Move, dumbass!" Yusuke yelled; he pushed Harry and Ron aside. Harry expected Yusuke to fall over with his limbs snapped to his side; what he did not expect was for them to go halfway before Yusuke showed signs of resistance. Yusuke looked as if he was trying to physically break the curse. Malfoy watched; horrified as his curse broke completely. Yusuke threw it off.

"That the best you can do?" He said; sounding bored. He let Malfoy run this time. He turned to the three.

"How did you _do _that?"

"Do what?"

"He couldn't curse you!"

"Yeah...I can't explain that." Yusuke said; effectively playing dumb; he wished Kurama was there to make something up, but Kurama had chosen to come right when the meeting would be starting. He went into the bar after that; wanting to avoid further questioning.

"Hermione; how could he have done that?" Ron asked instantly.

"I don't know...there are some ways you can build up your resistance to curses, but those usually have side effects like turning your skin purple..."

"Would you mind telling me what happened?" Kurama's voice said. They turned around; Kurama was really good at sneaking up on people.

"Umm...Yusuke just broke a full-body bind curse."

"Yes; that seems right." Kurama seemed to say more to himself.

"Hunh?"

"Yusuke just happens to be very resilient to curses; a gift of his I guess you could call it. Nothing you should become concerned over." Kurama lied easily; he had anticipated him and Yusuke being resistant to magic, of course, he would be able to control his defenses and allow curses to take effect, but Yusuke's body was much more likely to just respond to any curse appropriately because of Yusuke's lack of self-discipline.

"Oh, ok." Harry said, Kurama went into the bar as well.

"I wonder why he's like that..." Harry said, but they would have to look into this later; they had a meeting to host.

"Who knows? Doesn't matter does it? Malfoy nearly peed his pants."

"OH, this is terrible, Yusuke probably thinks you're no good at fighting now, and I told him you were."

"It's not my fault! I didn't expect Malfoy to pop out like that; he's never attacked us here."

"Well; maybe he won't think about it."

Inside, Kurama and Yusuke were discussing the most recent events.

"Seriously; they told me he was good at this sorta thing. He didn't even move!"

"From the sounds of things; Malfoy ambushed them. Not everyone is gifted with enhanced reaction time and incredible speed. They may have power, but they are not like us; they are still only human."

"I guess that makes sense..." Yusuke trailed off as Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked in and sat at their table.

"So; how many people can we expect?" Harry asked.

"Just a couple of people." was Hermione's response.

It became apparent within minutes that there were more then a couple people coming. By the time all was said and done there were almost thirty people there. (I'm really tired right now) Yusuke listened to them all recount several of Harry's adventures. He was slightly impressed; true, he could have handled it all, but he was also ahead by leaps and bounds in terms of experience and power. At the end of the meeting Hermione asked them all to sign a piece of paper. Yusuke and Kurama signed right after Fred and George. The instant Kurama finished signing his name both him and Yusuke seemed to notice something. Yusuke was suddenly wearing an excited smirk and Kurama looked deadly serious.

"Yusuke and myself have business in the village, I'm afraid. Please excuse us." Kurama said before him and Yusuke made their exit.

"How many d'ya think? I can't always tell."

"I would estimate ten of them; all middle C-class. This should not be a challenge for us. We must let none escape."

"Wasn't gonna." Yusuke said; speeding up. Finally, a real reason for them to be there...

The demons were still up in the mountains, so that made Yusuke and Kurama's job easier; they wouldn't have to do this without exposing themselves. The intercepted the demons.

"Rose Whip!" Kurama said, pulling the rose out of his hair and transforming it. He cut down half of the demons immediately. Yusuke chose to blast two away with his Spirit Gun.

"IT'S THEM!" Yelled one of the remaining demons. Yusuke took it down with a single punch; two left.

"Shotgun!" Yusuke yelled, taking them out with a more than powerful enough blast.

"Ah crap, now we gotta clean this up, don't we?"

"Don't worry." Kurama said oddly cheerily. He pulled a ten seeds out of his hair and one down next to each demon corpse. In a matter of minutes each was covered with beautiful flowers.

"Well, lets go back to the castle."

"I suppose you want _me_ to report this to Professor Dumbledore alone." Kurama said.

"We gotta report this?"

"Yes. We do."

Yusuke sighed as they began their way back to the castle. Back with the other heroes...

"I wonder why they left in such a hurry." Harry said out loud.

"I dunno, those two are definitely a little weird."

"You know, they might think that we're weird."

"Oh, c'mon Hermione; have you ever see people fight like that?"

"Maybe they do things differently in Japan. They're supposed to be our friends, you know, we shouldn't be talking about them behind their backs." Hermione said; for once not obsessing over a strange phenomenon.

"Doesn't mean they're not weird."

"Yeah, and I've never seen Yusuke use his wand outside of class."

"Well, Harry said he thinks he was raised by muggles, maybe he's just used to doing things without magic. Shuichi uses magic fairly often." Hermione said. Ron stopped in his tracks; he looked a little angry.

"_Shuichi???"_  
"What? It's his name." Hermione said; a little pink in the face. Ron didn't speak to her the rest of the day.

Monday arrived; bringing with it bad news. Umbridge must have somehow found out about their plans, because the latest educational degree pretty much barred them from their plans.

"So, what now? You gonna back out or show some balls?" Yusuke asked Harry.

"We're still doing it." He said.

"Right answer."

The day's surprises weren't over yet. During History of Magic Hedwig arrived for Harry (Yusuke was just about to put his head down for his nap).

"Hermione, what?" Harry asked; rather angrily.

"Look!" She said; Hedwig was at the window. Harry crept over and let her in.

"She's hurt!" He whispered to the other three. Harry stood up.

"Sir, I'm not feeling well, so I think I'll go to the hospital wing."

"Yes, go ahead, Perkins." Said Professor Binns. Harry left after that. Later...

"What'd the letter say?"

"Tonight, same time, same place."

"The hell does that mean?"

They had forgotten that Yusuke had joined their group.

"Umm...it's nothing."

They decided later that it would be alright if they couldn't get rid of Yusuke. It didn't matter anyway as he decided to go to bed early that night. The next few days passed without incident. Harry found out about a spot they could use for their first defense training meeting. The meeting went fairly well; Yusuke seemed to have a bit of unnecessary force behind his spells, so that instead of simply knocking Kurama's wand out of his hand it usually sent him skidding back a foot or so as well. As the days went on, Yusuke seemed to be in a progressively better mood. It was the Wednesday before Halloween (which was on a Friday), and Yusuke's spirits could not seem to be broken by even Snape.

"Today, we shall be creating a potion the likes of which none of you have ever attempted. It is called the Elixir of Previous Strength, and forces the drinkers body into the state it was at the moment in their lives that they were most powerful. We will be testing this on a member of the class today; though it is unlikely that any of you will undergo any change. The effect only last one minute. Instructions are on the board. Begin."

At the end of class only Hermione had completed the potion.

"Now we will select a test subject. How about..."

"_Shit, please not me."_

"You, Mr. Urameshi." Snape said. Yusuke didn't have a choice, well, he'd have to think of a cover story fast. Yusuke drank the potion. His hair grew, the markings appeared on his face; he was lucky in one respect, however, apparently when that demon had been possessing him didn't count. When the effects wore off, however, his hair remained long.

"Five points from Gryffindor. Granger obviously made the potion wrong." Snape said; completely indifferent to Yusuke's change. In fact, mostly no one cared, Yusuke had arrived at the school with long hair.

"Kurama, can you take care of this?" Yusuke asked at dinner that night. Even after all this though, he was still in an extremely good mood.

"Tomorrow ,Yusuke, many of my housemates tell me they need help with their homework and I already promised to assist them."

"Ok!" Yusuke said happily, Kurama seemed a bit taken aback by Yusuke's response.

The next day Yusuke was in such a good mood the others were getting concerned.

"Why are you so happy? Did some one hit you with a super cheering charm or something?"

"Or slip you some essence of insanity?"

"Nah, something goods gonna happen today. I can feel it."

They were walking to Herbology when Puu arrived. He had a very short note with him.

_Yusuke,  
I'm sorry I haven't written in a while, we've been busy, haven't found any more shards yet, though.  
I don't really have much to say.  
See you soon._

Yusuke looked at the letter.

_"Why didn't she sign it...?" _He thought as he folded it up and put it in his robes.

"Very soon." whispered a voice in his ear.

* * *

That turned out a bit longer than I anticipated. I have this next week off from both school and work, so I may be able to get the next chapter to you sometime during the week, but I make no promises. Hope you enjoyed. Please review!


	8. This is Halloween!

Sorry for the delay; got hit with writer's block and I remembered a ten page paper I had to start on (turned in yesterday). I did something in this chapter that's been done in the Harry Potter books before, but I really wanted to do the scene, so I did. Please read at least the first part of my bottom notes.

_**Warning:**_ Something of a sexual nature heavily implied!

Ashurinikouru: I had to end it there because of two reasons. One; the chapter was getting too long, two; I love leaving you guys in suspense. Thanks for the review!

FK306 animelover: Here's more. Thanks for the review!

Jessica: Yep; forced him into his demon form. Thanks for the review!

Rahzenshia: Yes, Kuwabara will be coming to Hogwarts, he was actually supposed to be in last chapter, but it was getting too long, so I had to end it. He'll probably be in it next chapter. Thanks for the review!

Time on my hands: Didn't you notice? I already set up the showdown last chapter, now I just have to decide how long to wait before I make Malfoy enter the most one sided fight ever. You'll have to read and see where they get alone time. Thanks for the review!

Raine: Sorry I didn't update sooner. Here's the chapter. Thanks for the review!

Reads-way-2-much: Aww...I'm sorry you feel that way. I hope this chapter can help. Thanks for the review!

CrimsonVixen: I left it there cuz I love the suspense, even though I already have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen. Thanks for the review!

* * *

"Very soon." Whispered a voice in Yusuke's ear. He spun around and stared in disbelief. He was standing face to face with Kagome. He stared at her; there was no way he could be imagining this, not when his heart rate had just doubled, and a feeling transcending happiness had just overtaken him.

"You're really here." He said; he looked into her eyes a second more before wrapping his arms tightly around her and kissing her. He was just deepening the kiss when...

"Ahem, well, we're going to go on ahead..." Hermione's voice broke through his bliss; sounding immensely uncomfortable. He had completely forgotten they had an audience.

"Yeah...I might see you guys at lunch." Yusuke said; never removing his eyes from Kagome. The three scurried off in a hurry.

"God, I missed you." Yusuke said.

"I missed you too."

"You know...we're kinda exposed here..."

"It doesn't matter; you have to go to class."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious. I told Professor Dumbledore that I wouldn't interfere with your classes."

"Who's gonna know?"

"Yusuke, you're going to class. I'll wait outside for you."

"Alright, fine, but I'm gonna be late." Yusuke gave in, before picking up where they left off. He was ten minutes late to Herbology.

"I'm surprised you showed up." Harry whispered to him.

"She made me go." Yusuke said in a tone that made it plain the topic was not open for discussion. Herbology seemed to drag on forever for Yusuke. When it was finally over, Yusuke made straight for the door, and found Kagome right outside.

"Let's get some food." Yusuke said. He wanted to cater to Kagome's every need.

"Lady Kagome; this is a pleasant surprise." Kurama said; seeing them as they entered the Great Hall, he sat down with them at the Gryffindor table (he usually spent lunch with the Ravenclaws).

"Hi Kurama."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned up soon after that. They sat down with the other three; looking distinctly awkward.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Kagome Higurashi." She introduced herself. Harry got a good look at her; she was really very pretty.

"I'm Hermione Granger, this is Ron Weasley, and this is Harry Potter." Hermione said. She was caught off guard; despite trying to be less judgmental of Yusuke, she couldn't help but wonder why some one so different from him would be his girlfriend.

"Anyway; how long ya' staying?" Yusuke asked, hoping it would be a long time.

"Just a week." She sighed; it was still better then nothing.

"Where ya' stayin'?" Yusuke asked. He was really hoping it was close by.

"You know, Professor Dumbledore forgot to get me a room."

"I think we'll find a bed for ya'." Yusuke said with an evil grin. He was starting to like Dumbledore more and more.

"So; you wanna hang out outside class, or in the dorm?" Yusuke asked.

The three Japanese students began talking amongst themselves after that; giving the other trio time to do the same.

"Not exactly what I imagined Yusuke's girlfriend to be like..." Ron said in a whisper.

"Me either..." Harry added.

"How close do you think they are though?" Hermione asked.

Kagome followed them to all their classes; patiently waiting for Yusuke. The end of the day found the five sitting in front of the Common Room fire (Kagome in Yusuke's lap; everyone else managed not to look uncomfortable).

"So...how did you two meet?" Hermione asked; trying to make conversation. Yusuke and Kagome looked at each other as if asking if they should answer or not; it would look suspicious if they didn't, and it wasn't like it involved demons or anything.

"Well, one day I was walking home from school, and a bunch of older guys attacked me when I turned into an alley. Yusuke stepped in and fought them off." She said, "After that he walked me home to make sure they wouldn't come back."

"Oh!" Hermione said; she hadn't expected anything like that. They talked a while longer; until Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to bed.

"You tired?" Yusuke asked Kagome.

"A little, but shouldn't we wait until they're all asleep? It would really simplify matters."

"If they have a problem with it I'll deal with them."

"I was hoping we could go the week without you fighting anyone."

"I won't have to." Yusuke said. Kagome could only assume he'd already established dominance over the rest of the castle. They climbed the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

"Er...what is she doing in here?" Ron asked; him and Harry hadn't gotten into bed yet.

"What? You think I'm gonna let her sleep downstairs?" Yusuke said.

"But we don't have an extra bed."

"Don't need one." Yusuke said. He closed the curtains around his bed as Kagome rummaged in her backpack for her pajamas (it had been sitting right on top of Yusuke's trunk). Yusuke changed into his pajamas right after.

"Good Night!" He said to the room at large, closing the curtain around his bed (he usually left it open).

The next morning, when Harry and Ron went to wake Yusuke; they had to consider how they were going to do it. They couldn't tip Yusuke like normal when he had someone else in his bed (Harry wasn't very surprised to find them in each other's arms).

"How are we supposed to do this?" Harry asked. He had spoken loud enough to wake Kagome.

"Sorry."

"It's ok. You guys are trying to get Yusuke up, right?"

"Yeah."

Kagome shook Yusuke gently; "Yusuke, wake up." She said. Yusuke slowly opened his eyes.

"Lea'me alone, I'm tired." Yusuke said groggily.

"Get up. Now." Kagome commanded.

"Alright, alright, I'm up." Yusuke said; rolling out of bed. Harry almost laughed.

Kagome followed them to breakfast. Yusuke walked her back to the dorm; where she had decided to stay until lunch, he was going to be late for History of Magic, as if that mattered.

"I feel so bad; she didn't have anywhere to sleep last night, I could have let her take my bed for the night at least, but I didn't even think of it." Hermione said; talking about Kagome.

"Don't worry about it; Yusuke made sure she was comfortable."

"Where did she sleep?" Hermione asked. Harry hesitated; he hadn't had a problem with it, but he highly doubted that Hermione would be as easygoing about this as him.

"With him. I think they were planning on that from the start, actually..."

Hermione's face flushed.

"You aren't going to tell on them, are you?"

"Well...I...er...uh...I...no." She almost said yes.

Yusuke turned up for History of Magic about fifteen minutes late.

The day passed slowly, Kagome joined them at lunch, and went back to the dorm again after that. No one ate much as the Halloween feast would be later. Yusuke was even less attentive in all his classes then usual. The time for the feast came.

"I wonder what's gonna happen this year..." Ron said.

"What d'ya mean?"

"Something happens on Halloween every year. First year it was a troll, second year it was a paralyzed cat and a message written in blood, third year it was some one breaking into the castle and slicing up the Fat Lady, and last year Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire. Makes sense that something's gonna happen this year." Ron said. The meal began.

"Try some of this stuff, it's really good." Yusuke was saying to Kagome. The feast was almost half over when Kurama got up from the Ravenclaw table to go speak with Dumbledore (even though no one but the teachers seemed to notice Kurama chose to whisper; in Japanese for added security). Dumbledore waited five minutes before taking action (just as Yusuke and Kagome were about to sneak off to the dorm). He stood up.

"It seems another troll has found its way into the castle. Please follow your prefects to your common rooms; the feast will continue there. I am sure that none of my _students_ will do anything that would put them in danger." Dumbledore said calmly; avoiding a full panic.

Everyone began following whatever prefects had gotten to the front of the line (Ron and Hermione hadn't been the first on the uptake).

"I'm gonna go take care of them." Yusuke whispered to Kagome when they were half way to the common room. Yusuke and Kagome melted out of the crowd. It didn't take them long to find the troll, along with two others. Yusuke stepped forward.

"Hey, uglies," Yusuke said loudly to try and get their attention; he took off his robe and threw it aside; "Let's go!" He said, he ran at the first one...

"Where'd Yusuke go?" Harry asked suddenly. He had just noticed his absence.

"Er..." Ron said; looking around real fast; Yusuke's hair at the moment made him very easy to pick out.

"He's not here..."

"You don't think he went after the troll, do you?" Hermione asked, it was just the kind of reckless thing they had come to expect of Yusuke.

"We gotta go look for him; he could be in trouble." Harry said; they too vanished from the crowd. They began looking for him and Kagome, going back to where they could last remember seeing him and working their way out. They couldn't believe what they saw when they found him; Hermione pulled them behind a suit of armor. There was a troll unconscious on the ground, and there was Yusuke facing down the other two. They watched him knock out the second one with an expertly delivered jumping uppercut. The last troll swung his club straight down. Hermione gasped, Yusuke caught it and shoved it aside. There was no way a human could be that strong. Yusuke knocked out the third.

"That was fun!" Yusuke said; turning around to face Kagome; their eyes met.

"But I think I know something better then fun..." Him and Kagome began rushing to the dormitory. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at the spot they had just been for a moment.

"We need to get out of here before a teacher finds us." Hermione said, they made their way back to the common room, still completely shocked by what they had just seen. They got to the common room and sat down in a corner to discuss, after quickly glancing around to make sure Yusuke was no where nearby.

"Yusuke, this door doesn't have a lock."

"Hold on, hold on!" Yusuke said, pulling one of his spellbooks out of his trunk and rifling through it.

"C'mon...they gotta have a spell for this...here! _Colloportus!" _Yusuke said, pointing his wand at the door; it magically sealed itself.

"I love magic!" Kagome said as she pulled something out of her backpack. She began kissing Yusuke...

"Ok, it's official, he's a freak!" Ron said.

"I can't think of any way that's possible. How can a person overpower three trolls?"

"Maybe he overdosed on Strengthening Solution or something."

"No, that only makes magic more powerful..."

"Then I think Ron's right."

"There has to be an explanation for this!" Hermione said; almost hysterically.

"The only person I know that's even close to that strong is Hagrid." Harry said; there was a pause.

"Harry! That's it!"

"What's it?"

"Hagrid is the only person we know that's that strong."

"Are you trying to say that Yusuke is Hagrid in disguise? That's kinda dumb, Hermione."

"No, Yusuke must be part giant! It makes perfect sense!"

"One problem; he's not tall enough." Ron pointed out.

"Give me a minute..." Hermione said; she was thinking hard. There were a few moments of quiet.

"An atavism!" She said.

"A what?"

"It's when you get a genetic trait from an ancestor."

"Er..."

"Ok, Ron, if you had kids with someone without red hair, and none of your kids had red hair, and this went on for generations, one could eventually end up having red hair even though neither of the parents did." Hermione explained mostly to Ron; Harry could remember hearing a very vague outline of this in muggle school.

"I dunno, it seems unlikely."

"Remember how he threw off Malfoy's curse? Giants are resistant to curses, and on our first day I saw him get mad when Umbridge called half-breeds dangerous."

"Do you think we should ask him about it?" Ron asked.

"No...he probably would have told us if he wanted us to know." Harry said.

"And you're sure about this?"

"Positive, there's no other logical explanation. He probably just got lucky and didn't get the height." Hermione said, "I'll ask Shui-Kurama about it." She was very careful not to call him Shuichi around Ron; it made him mad for some reason.

"Yeah...unless he's some kind of super powered hero sent to protect us all from You-Know-Who." Ron said very sarcastically, he seemed to accept Hermione's explanation, Harry didn't argue against it; if Hermione said it made sense then it must have.

"You know...I've been wondering, why _did_ Dumbledore invite them this year, right when Voldemort came back?" Harry said; ignoring Ron's flinch.

"Oh, that one's obvious, he wants to enhance foreign relations. He's been really big on that with the Order." Hermione explained that away too. They sat discussing this for quite some time.

"Hey; where is Yusuke?"

"Good question. Kagome's gone too."

"Want me to get the map?" Harry asked. They agreed. Harry walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitory and found the door locked. He knew that these doors didn't have a lock on them; his mind put it together. The door was magically sealed. Yusuke and Kagome were both missing from the proceedings. Harry decided to come back later.

"Where's the map?" Ron asked.

"I think Yusuke's in the dormitory..." Harry said; his face was more red than Ron's hair. Hermione, putting it together as well, turned red too.

"That. Was. Amazing." Yusuke panted.

"Wonder why he's missing the feast." Ron said (his mind didn't work quite the same). Harry and Hermione turned the conversation out of these waters. They began trying to think of other strange occurrences involving the foreigners.

"Why do you think they fight with each other like that?...Wow! I can't imagine how much he was holding back in all those fights!"

"Yusuke said it was to stay in shape. What I'm wondering is why they're so good at fighting."

"That is strange....Asia has always been associated with Martial Arts, but still..." Hermione said. She may not know much about fighting, but she knew certain things could only be learned from experience.

"And Yusuke meditates." Ron pointed out; there was something more to these foreigners then they were letting on, but that didn't mean that they weren't still just exchange students.

"I think...I think they get up to dangerous stuff; it's something about the way Yusuke acts. He right out laughed at Trelawney when she told him he had 'an aura of death', and he doesn't get scared by anything really." Harry said.

"Kurama said that Yusuke's had a rough life..."

"There was that 'competition' they mentioned too; they don't seem to want to talk about it."

"Maybe they're like us." Hermione said thoughtfully; it was possible that they did the same sorts of things at their school that the three did here at Hogwarts; after all, Hogwarts couldn't be the only magical school with mysteries that needed solving every year. Eventually they got on the topic of Hiei.

"The way he talks to everyone is just creepy, he doesn't even call Yusuke and Kurama by name, he just calls them 'Fox' and 'Detective'. I mean; Kurama has to have a connection to foxes; Yusuke calls him 'fox-boy' sometimes, but what's with 'Detective'? Yusuke isn't really the brightest person we know."

"Yeah...that doesn't make much sense either. But I think that Hiei guy might just be a lunatic. How many times did he threaten to kill someone while he was here?" Ron said.

Yusuke and Kagome were now cuddled up against each other in his bed.

"We should unlock the door now..." Kagome said; not moving. Yusuke grabbed his wand from the bedside table and pointed it at the door.

"_Alohomora."_ He said, unlocking it from a distance; "And no reason for anyone to come give us the third degree this time." Yusuke said; holding Kagome closer. They were asleep before anybody else came in.

Yusuke did not get up to spar with Kurama the next morning. He and Kagome rose later then everyone else. Hermione tracked Kurama down in the library.

"Hello, Hermione, how may I help you?" Kurama said kindly; he could sense she was building up her courage to ask something, his hand began to move slowly and stealthily towards his wand, he knew Yusuke had dealt with the trolls, and if she saw...

"Well, it's just, I wanted to ask you something about Yusuke."

"Very well, go ahead."

"Well, last night...we saw him beat up three trolls."

"Really now?" Kurama asked; feigning surprise. Just a little bit more..."By 'we' I assume you mean yourself, Harry, and Ronald."

"Yes, we were wondering; is Yusuke part giant?"

"Oh!" Kurama said; he had not been expecting that, what a good cover it would be for Yusuke too. Kurama mentally reprimanded himself for not having thought of it.

"Yes, he is. Please do _not_ let him know I told you; he is sensitive about the subject." Kurama said; he managed to fake shame in his voice and on his face for revealing this untrue secret.

"Ok, we won't."

"In fact, it would be unwise to even mention it to him. Please keep this a secret."

"Alright, I understand."

Kurama was relieved; so many things could have gone wrong there. They could have come up with a different explanation, they could have seen Yusuke actually use his spirit powers, or they could have gone to Yusuke with this. Kurama was glad he didn't have to break into Gryffindor tower to modify Ron and Harry's memories (not that he would have wanted to very much otherwise). He would have to tell Yusuke to be more careful.

The weekend ended, to Yusuke's displeasure. He could no longer spend all his time with Kagome; he'd be going back to class. Yusuke's shoulders slumped when he left her after breakfast.

"This is lame, she's only here for a week; why do I have to go to class?"

"Class is important." Hermione said.

"She's _waaaaay_ more important." Yusuke retorted.

The day passed slowly for Yusuke again. He was walking back to the tower after dinner with Kagome. He turned suddenly to Kagome and kissed her.

"I love you." He said.

She responded by kissing him.

"I love you too." She said before they walked on. This really wasn't the place to get very intense. They spent the majority of the night in a secluded corner of the Common Room; catching up on everything they had missed. No one bothered them.

* * *

Sorry that was a little short. I have a few notes now. First; I can no longer pump out long chapters efficiently, so I can either put out a shorter chapter more often, or a long chapter with much more spacing in between; I am leaning more towards the shorter chapter option. Second; the Yusuke-giant thing was something that's been in the back of my mind for a while; it came from an OC of mine that will never make an appearance (I couldn't come up with enough for the fic starring them; I'm not going to elaborate on it) I took the atavism thing from Yusuke for it; and now I had an opportunity to use one of the things from them, so I did. Next chapter is gonna be mostly a filler chapter, but will still have some important things in it. I'll give you the chapter name.

Next Chapter: Don't Fear the Reaper


	9. Don't fear the Reaper

Severe Ron OOC this chapter. Enjoy!

Jessica: Yep; Kurama lied. Thanks for the review!

Time on my hands: Well, Ron would have basically no knowledge of genetics or biology; but Harry, and especially Hermione would (the whole memorizing textbooks thing, you know), at least a little bit, as far as everyone knowing what Yusuke and Kagome were up to…well, Harry and Hermione have an idea, and everyone else leaves Yusuke alone for fear of their face being broken in. I'm just glad I didn't go with my other plan of Yusuke and Kagome forgetting to lock the door; that'd have been too traumatizing I think. Thanks for the review!

Reads-way-2-much: Thanks for the love; I decided to do shorter chapters for the most part, but as you can see, this one still took a while. Thanks for the review!

Raine: Yep, Botan's here for this chapter, not as much as I'd planned though. Thanks for the review!

CrimsonVixen: Om nom nom, cookies. As for an entire wave of demons attacking, I considered it, and you'll just have to see what I do. Voldemort still doesn't know what happened to his demons yet, since all their corpses were gone. Thanks for the review!

FK306 Animelover: I'm glad you like it. Here's some more. Thanks for the review!

Rahzenshia: Yeah, they missed each other a lot, but I can't have Kagome around too often…those poor Hogwarts kids with their virgin eyes, you know. The thing with long chapters is that they take too long to do with this fic, it's a lot harder then y last one for some reason. Here's the chapter. Thanks for the review!

Flame55: Thanks for the review!

* * *

"So wait; they think I'm part giant?" Yusuke asked Kurama, this had been his first opportunity to tell Yusuke; not that he was overly concerned about it.

"Yes. We are lucky that they were intelligent enough to come up with that theory." Kurama did see the irony in how their intelligence blinded them from the truth though.

"And you told them I was _sensitive_ about it?" Yusuke asked; a little disgusted that Kurama would say that.

"I had to keep them from pestering you about it, as well as give them a reason as to why you wouldn't have told them."

"Still..."

"Oh, you'll be fine." Kagome said to Yusuke; "It wouldn't hurt to show them you have a softer side, you know."

"Hey, I have a reputation to think of." Yusuke said, "Speaking of soft..." Yusuke said, running his hand over Kagome's skin.

"Stop it, Yusuke." Kagome said; she didn't really mind, but Kurama was sitting right there, not to mention they were currently outside, enjoying what was likely to be the last warm day of the year. It was after classes. Kagome would be going home in two days, then back to the feudal era, so Yusuke was trying to secure all the time he could with her; away from Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"You think we'll be seeing any demons again soon? We haven't had any since the village." Yusuke said.

"More than likely. Lord Voldemort is likely still trying to figure out what happened the first time."

"Good, I need something to keep me busy when she's not here." Yusuke said; holding Kagome a bit tighter.

Thursday arrived; the day of Kagome's departure, Yusuke, Kurama, Harry, Ron, and Hermione accompanied her to the gates (Dumbledore had had a portkey hidden in the village for her).

"I love you, Kagome," Yusuke said to her.

"I love you too."

"Ok, now you guys can go away, or you can watch, I don't really give a crap." Yusuke said to everyone else, as he was about to start kissing Kagome. Everyone left them alone (Kurama went just out of sight).

"Any idea when you'll be back?" Yusuke asked.

"No." Kagome said, "I was supposed to deliver a message to you before I left, by the way."

"What was it?" Yusuke asked; Kagome slapped him.

"Yusuke Urameshi, you stupid jerk! Next time you're leaving TELL ME!" Kagome repeated word per word.

"What the hell? Keiko slapped you?" He knew Keiko well enough to know it was her message.

"Of course not, I added that; she's your best friend isn't she? She deserves to know where you are."

"I think you just wanted to slap me again, you sadist." Yusuke said; his grin in place, she hadn't slapped too hard.

"I need to get going, Dumbledore said it could leave without me, and since it was set up illegally I don't want to have to ask him to make another one."

"Wish I could go with you."

"I know; good-bye." Kagome said; if she stayed much longer she wouldn't be able to force herself to leave.

"Bye." Yusuke said; watching her walk through the gates.

Yusuke began walking back; he saw Kurama leaning against a tree.

"Are you feeling alright, Yusuke?" Kurama asked, if this visit had turned out to do more harm then good...

"Yeah, I'm alright." Yusuke said, he was slightly depressed, but at least he knew that it wouldn't be too long before he saw Kagome again.

"Good, we have work to do." Kurama said; looking in the direction of the forest.

"Just what I needed," Yusuke said; picking up the demons' energy as well; even if these demons weren't any stronger then last time, and there was the same amount, it was something to do at least. Yusuke and Kurama ran into the forest.

Harry was walking up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Kagome had left an hour ago, and he had no idea where Yusuke and Kurama had gone afterwards.

"Yusuke that was foolish." said Kurama.

"It was a giant, talking, spider, what the hell was I supposed to think?" Yusuke said.

"That perhaps it would be an inhabitant of the forest? There was no reason to attack it. You are lucky I managed to get you free."

"Calm down, I didn't kill it."

"Yes, but you were bitten...are you feeling the venom still?" Kurama added, seeming to end his scolding.

"Nah, not too bad, still feel like I'm gonna puke a little bit, but other than that..."

"That is to be expected. I should go; I'm not supposed to be here."

"Thanks for healing me, man."

"Don't exert yourself, the wound could reopen." Kurama said.

"You sure you can climb down on your own?"

"Yes, it should not be a problem. It's not the first time I've scaled a tower, after all." Kurama said as he climbed down the tower, using the ivy he had grown there himself. Harry walked in a second later; unaware that he had almost found Kurama.

"What happened to you?" Harry asked; Yusuke's wound was exposed and he looked slightly ill (not that Yusuke was trying to hide it, he had neglected to put a new shirt on).

"Just went for a little walk in the woods." Yusuke responded.

"We told you it was dangerous in there."

"I had fun. Not like there's anything else to do around here."

"You should be more careful, there are things in there that could kill you."

"I'm tough enough; besides, where's the fun without a little risk?"

"...How'd that happen, anyway?"

"Meh, it's just a bug bite." Yusuke said; despite knowing how dangerous that 'bug bite' was, Harry had a desire to laugh.

"You should go to the hospital wing..."

"Kurama already took care of it...and honestly, if he says something is taken care of, then it is." Yusuke said.

"If you're sure..." said Harry.

"I am." Yusuke yawned, "I'm goin' to sleep, I'm really tired for some reason..." The remedy Kurama had given Yusuke just happened to have drowsiness as a side effect. Yusuke fell asleep. Harry left the dorm; completely forgetting why he'd gone up there in the first place.

Yusuke awoke slightly earlier then normal the next morning. He went through the day in a fairly good mood. The promise of Kagome visiting again had done wonders to his moral; he was acting closer to himself then he had since arriving at Hogwarts. He joked more, laughed more, and was _slightly _less aggressive; he was even swearing a little less. It was the end of the day and they were out in the courtyard (it wasn't cold enough to stay inside).

"So, Kurama, we've gotten Hiei twice and Kagome once. How long do you think it'll be before Kuwabara shows up? I miss beating on the lug."

"Who knows? He will most likely be here next."

"Oh! Bingo, Kurama!" Said a voice distinctly different from Kuwabara's. Botan and Kuwabara were standing right behind the five; Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't even flinch; they had gotten used to Yusuke and Kurama's friends sneaking up on them.

"Lady Botan! It's very nice to see you." Kurama said; completely ignoring Kuwabara...that wasn't like Kurama. He took Botan's hand in his own and kissed it lightly. Harry's eyes narrowed, was Kurama, the one who never betrayed more then a hint of emotion, blushing?

"Hey! I'm here too!" Kuwabara said a little angrily.

"My apologies, Kuwabara." Kurama said quickly.

"He knew you were here, he just ignored you 'cuz Botan is alot easier to look at." Yusuke insulted instead of greeted.

"Shut up, Urameshi."

"Why don't you try and make me?"

"You're eatin' dirt!"

And just like that, they were fighting. Kurama and Botan used this moment to slip away. Everyone else's attention was focused on the fight.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" Kurama asked.

"Oh, nothing really, I usually just want to get away from Hiei, and since he wasn't here this time, I came to say hi."

"Well then, we must be thankful that Hiei was not chosen this time." Kurama said.

Botan didn't know quite how to respond; she giggled.

"It's nice to see you guys again."

"Yes...well, perhaps we should return to Yusuke and Kuwabara. We don't want Kuwabara becoming too badly injured."

As they returned, they saw Kuwabara getting up off the ground.

"I think that makes two hundred wins for me, zero wins for you." Yusuke said proudly.

"Grr...shut up, it was only one hundred ninety-eight."

"Whatever, I'll get those last two tomorrow."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione hadn't even noticed Kurama and Botan's brief absence. They were too confused by Yusuke and Kuwabara; Yusuke had easily beaten Kuwabara, and they had greeted each other hostilely, but were now laughing together like best friends.

"I am the great Kazuma Kuwabara, by the way." Kuwabara introduced himself.

"Umm...hi." Harry said; he handled the introductions this time around.

"And I'm Botan!" Botan said in her usual cheery manner, "It's so nice to meet you all. I hope Yusuke hasn't been too hard to deal with. Oh! That reminds me!" She hit Yusuke on the back of the head very hard.

"What the hell? If that was for Keiko then I've already gotten hit for that!"

"Well you probably deserved another!" Botan said; it had been her that had told Keiko where Yusuke was this time, "She still worries about you, you know..."

"Why does every girl I know hit me?" Yusuke asked no one in particular.

"Yes...well, perhaps we should get dinner." Kurama suggested. They began walking into the castle; Botan addressed Yusuke in Japanese.

"Koenma has a message for you, I was supposed to just have Kuwabara give it to you, but since I'm here anyway; he wants you to meet him tonight, just past midnight, on the edge of the forest, past the lake, he said you shouldn't have a problem finding him."

"Any idea what pacifier breath wants?" Yusuke asked back in Japanese.

"No." Botan responded; they had to keep this conversation short, they had been talking quietly, and she didn't want to seem suspicious.

"So, Botan, will we be seeing you tomorrow?" Kurama asked.

"I don't know, Kurama...I'm supposed to be back already..."

"I must insist, surely Koenma will understand."

"Alrighty then!" Botan said cheerily; if Kurama vouched for her then she had nothing to worry about.

A while after dinner Botan and Kuwabara left; Kuwabara would be staying in the village over night and Botan had neglected to mention where she was going (because the truth would have involved revealing Spirit World). Yusuke pretended to go to bed early. At just past midnight he began sneaking out.

"Where are you goin'?" Harry asked him; meeting him on the stairs.

"Just a little nighttime walk." Yusuke said; shrugging.

"_He's going to the forest..."_ Harry thought. Yusuke continued walking down the stairs. Harry considered the situation...even with his giant blood, the forest was too dangerous for Yusuke to go wandering off in at night, especially alone; he'd have to follow him, he ran upstairs to grab his cloak. He threw it over himself and ran after Yusuke. He finally managed to catch sight of him when he reached the grounds; Yusuke could sure move quick...Harry had almost caught up to him when he was forced to dart behind a tree; Yusuke had stopped to talk to Dumbledore, who was on the grounds for some reason. Harry could barely here their short conversation.

"Ah, what brings you out tonight, Yusuke?" Dumbledore addressed very informally.

"Not much, just thought I'd go for a little walk, you know."

"Yes, well, if you plan to enter the forest then please be careful; it is particularly dangerous at night."

"I'll keep that in mind...see ya' later, old man." Yusuke said before speeding off. He knew where Koenma was; the prince was putting off a distinct energy signature. Harry crept after as fast as he could under the cloak, which was fairly slow as he still had to conceal himself partly in case Dumbledore came back. He was shocked by what he had just heard; Dumbledore may be lenient on the rule of going out after hours, but to give some one advice on visiting the forest at night was very strange. Harry came to one conclusion; Dumbledore must know about Yusuke's giant blood (I typed demon blood three times in a row by accident here), and thought him capable of handling anything in there.

"Hello Yusuke." Koenma said once Yusuke had arrived.

"What do you want?"

"Even less with the pleasantries that usual; I see." Koenma said; he was acting strange.

"First, do you have any questions about the mission?"

"Why's Kagome banned from coming here?" Yusuke asked, true, he had just seen her, but that didn't stop him from wondering.

"My father's orders...but I know she's been here. That was difficult to keep from father."

"Why does he want to keep us apart so bad?"

"I'm not sure...we never predicted you two would meet, much less fall in love, so I haven't been able to think of any reasons...yet.

"We weren't supposed to meet? Was I supposed to end up with Keiko?" Yusuke asked; this was an interesting topic.

"No...we predicted that you two would eventually split up, what we didn't predict was you getting drunk and running into Kurama. We think that's what changed everything."

"Who did you guys think I was gonna end up with?" Yusuke asked; Koenma looked almost ready to laugh as he answered.

"Shizuru."(Don't ask...I have no idea)

"You gotta be kidding me! Shizuru?" Yusuke really was laughing.

"That's beside the point, I think my father may be trying to simply keep you and Kagome apart."

"What the hell?"

"But you may not have to worry about that much longer..." Koenma said much more seriously. He glanced around to see if there was anyone listening in.

"What do you mean?"

"I've noticed some inconsistencies in my father's documents," Koenma said shiftily, "It may be nothing, but it may lead to something bigger..." This is what Koenma had come to tell Yusuke.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Yusuke; there is no one I would trust more with this information. I do not wish to dethrone my father, but if he has broken our laws...I may have no choice."

"How soon will you know?"

"It will be a _very _long time...progress has been exceptionally slow; especially since I must work alone." There was a pause; in which time Harry finally found them.

"So, Koenma, why'd we have to meet out here, in the middle of the night? Why not the Old Man's office?"

"I had to meet with Professor Dumbledore, and the grounds here are very interesting..."

"The middle of the night part?"

"You know I'm very busy."

Harry left quickly; he hadn't come to eavesdrop. He couldn't help but wonder who this 'Koenma' was.

"And as the subject nature was private, I thought it would be best."

"What'd you have to meet with Dumbledore about?"

"He wanted to request more information on the team."

"And are you gonna give it to him?" Yusuke asked.

"Yes, but not just yet. Yusuke, you should return to the castle now."

"Fine; I'm outta here." Yusuke left; as he made his way back to the castle he had the strangest feeling he was being followed, but he reached out with his spirit sense and felt no one, so he continued walking. Harry, having not gone too far, walked after him. He just hoped that some one would mention Koenma tomorrow so he could get some more information.

The next morning found Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara next to the lake, discussing how things were going to go that day.

"How do you intend we do this? I have not had a chance to train for quite some time, Hiei and Yusuke are always much too preoccupied, and when Kagome was here Yusuke expended too much energy the night before to be bothered with training."

Yusuke and Kuwabara gave identical grins.

"I think _we_ know how to do this." Kuwabara said.

"Oh?" Kurama said, he was interested, it wasn't often some one else came up with the plans.

"Yeah...a three way fight; it'll be fun."

"Very well. Let's begin." Kurama said, the free-for-all began. Harry, Ron, and Hermione showed up slightly later; Harry had told them what he had seen the night before. They stopped just out of earshot.

"That does seem strange...but they do a lot of odd things." Hermione said; gesturing at the brawling trio, "Japan must just be different like that. What else could it be? Its like Ron said, it's not like they were sent here to guard us. That's just _absurd_."

"I know it's nothing like that...it's just, I wanna know what they get up to at _their_ school."

"I would say ask them, but they don't seem to like to discuss it, and it's not like it's important."

"Let's just go and see if one of them mentions this Koenma guy. He has to be an important person if he's meeting with Dumbledore."

They went closer. Botan showed up soon after; Kurama temporarily stepped out of the fight.

"I'm glad you decided to join us."

"Yes; Koenma said he didn't mind."

"Who's Koenma?" Harry asked, wanting his curiosity filled.

"The headmaster of our school in Japan."

"Oh, ok."

"Kurama, are you gonna fight or gossip all day?" Yusuke yelled from a headlock; which he quickly broke out of and reversed. Kurama rejoined the fight. They stopped at lunch; when Botan left.

"Later, Botan." Yusuke called as she walked away.

"I'll be back tomorrow to pick up Kuwabara."

"I look forward to it." Kurama said smoothly. After lunch Yusuke and Kuwabara went back to fighting; Kurama seemed to have lost interest. Ron, Hermione, and Harry left them to do their own things at that point. By the end of the day Yusuke had achieved two hundred and seven wins; zero losses.

The next day came; Botan picked up Kuwabara just before lunch. After she'd left (the three wondered why she was the one bringing people back and forth) Hermione asked Kurama something. (I know this coming up is completely irrelevant and kinda stupid, but I wanted to do this for so long, the idea entertains me)

"Shuichi, is she your girlfriend?"

"No, Botan and I are merely friends." Kurama said a little quickly. Unfortunately, Ron had heard this whole exchange; subconciously misinterpretting the innocent question.

"Kurama, do you ever play chess?"

"No, I have, however, played Shoji; it is very similar, why do you ask?" Kurama responded politely; he could detect something more then curiosity in Ron's voice, was it perhaps jealousy?

"Well, you're really smart, you seem like you'd be good at it, I was wondering if you wanted a game..." Ron said; not even he realized what this really was. Kurama decided to go along with it.

"I believe that it could be quite fun. Would you like to play now?"

"Sure, just let me grab my chessmen."

"Ron's acting strange..." Harry said.

"He has no idea what he's getting into." Yusuke said; a slight smile on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"Kurama never makes mistakes; I've only seen 'em be wrong once. He's gonna kick Ron's ass." The only time he could remember Kurama ever miscalculating something was during the fight with Karasu.

"I dunno...I've never seen Ron lose a game of chess." Harry defended; true, Kurama was smart (the rumor was that he knew more about plants then Professor Sprout), but so was Hermione, and she was awful at chess, not to mention Ron's chess playing skill had been legendary since first year.

Ron arrived; Kurama had produced a set of chessmen from somewhere, and the match began. After a few minutes Yusuke got bored and left to pursue other methods of entertainment (the forest). He returned four hours later, the match was getting to its final stages now; both competitors were trying their hardest. Twenty minutes after Yusuke had returned...

"It seems that we have a stalemate." Kurama said, "Neither of us can make any move without putting ourselves into check."

Ron's eyes were wide; Kurama was right. For the first time in his memory he had failed to win a chess match.

"I apologize for underestimating you at first," Kurama said; standing up. "It seems its time for dinner; I think I'll sit with my house tonight." Kurama left the Gryffindor table (where they had been playing).

"Man...you must be good if Kurama couldn't beat you."

* * *

Random ending. Sorry about that last part; I wanted to have Ron challenge Kurama somehow, and that was the only way that made sense; also I thought it was funny. Sorry it took so long too...I'm starting to see why there are so few of these crossover's completed; they're hard (don't worry, I'll finish this, it'll just take longer then expected). I keep wanting to have the Hogwarts three find out about one of the missions, but J.K. Rowling made them too damn good at figuring stuff out. Meh, I'm done now. I'll have next chapter out as soon as I can, but I'm going on vacation soon, so if I don't get it out before I leave it'll be a bit longer. Please Review!


	10. Depart and Return

I'm very sorry about the HUGE delay, something happened in my personal life that sort of took the heart out of me, but I'm not posting to whine and complain, I'm here to bring you the newest chapter. Oh yeah, this also isn't going to be a Kurama/Botan fic, I'm just hinting at it, just something going on a little more in the background. Sorry again for the delay. Without further adieu, here ya' go.

Rahzenshia: Ok, I'm probably not going to resolve the Kurama/Botan thing, but since you asked: I've picked a few things out of the show and manga that make me think they had something for each other, so yes, I do think Botan likes Kurama. In answer to the cloak question, that foreshadowing for the seventh book "A cloak that completely conceals the user," you know, that thing. I'm very sorry about the delay...I'd rather not get into details on what was going on at the moment, its still unresolved and quite personal. Thanks for the review!

Reads-way-2-much: In answer to your question; I went to Las Vegas, it was great except my family was there and I'm too young to gamble (apparently its 21), but I did have a great time. Thanks for the review!

flame55: Right now, and MAYBE next chapter, depends how long it gets, it may be two chapters from now that you get anyone else new. Thanks for the review!

Raine: Thanks for the review!

.: Yeah...sorry about the delay. Thanks for the review!

Syn'ri: Honestly, Yusuke's demon blood is ridiculously confusing to me, I have no idea, so you could be right. Thanks for the review!

LeafeKnight: Thanks, and yes, he really does, I'm glad I made Yusuke mature slightly because of her; it makes him a little easier to write. As for Kurama and Botan, not sure, it really all depends on creative inspiration. Thanks for the review!

KakashiXKagome: Yes, of my many faults in writing, I am at least confident in my grammar when I try; of course, Spell/grammar check has a little to do with that. Thanks for the review!

Dark Inu Fan: Crap, I was hoping no one besides me would catch that. In my defense, Spirit world probably has its own means of magical translation...ok, I didn't think of that until after I posted the chapter, and I always leave my work as it was when I post it, so I didn't go back to change it. Thanks for the review!

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Kuwabara and Botan had left, Hiei had just left, and Yusuke was relaxing by the fire in the Gryffindor common room; freezing rain was falling fiercely from the sky. If this kept up then Harry wouldn't have Quidditch practice, and that would open up the time for the next D.A. meeting. Harry was almost hoping Quidditch would be cancelled; Fred and George Weasley had found a boggart while hiding from Filch, and he thought it would be a good chance to teach how to react to fear. He had just informed Yusuke of the tentative schedule.

The next day the rain hadn't let up at all; Quidditch was cancelled, so there would indeed be another D.A. meeting that night. Yusuke made his way up to the seventh floor after dinner; Kurama went with him, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had left early to get ready. They arrived quickly; even Yusuke and Kurama had gained a few useful tricks from Harry (though they probably could have taught him a lot more).

"Hey, we're here." Yusuke announced; there were a few people ahead of them. They waited for everyone else to arrive.

"Ok; I thought that we'd go over reacting under fear. Fred and George found a boggart...somewhere, so we're each going to fight it." Harry said once everyone had arrived; he wondered how Fred and George had managed to transport it here for him.

"Oh come on, we all learned that two years ago with Professor Lupin." Said Zacharais Smith.

"Like I've said before; if you think it's beneath you, go ahead and leave." Harry responded; Smith was really annoying.

_**"We might have a problem Yusuke..."**_ Kurama said to Yusuke telepathically.

_**"Holy shit! You can do it to?" **_Yusuke responded; startled by Kurama's sudden message in his mind.

_**"Yes, so can Kuwabara; sending a message telepathically is not difficult, **_**you're **_**doing it right now, accidentally, I'm sure. Back to the matter at hand, we may have a problem with the boggart."**_

_**"Why? He said we have to fight it, that's no big deal."**_

_**"Boggarts transform into their opponents greatest fear. I can most likely hide mine from the creature....but I doubt you can...no offense intended."**_

_**"First; I don't have a worst fear, so this'll be a piece of cake; second, isn't your's your mom dying?"**_

_**"No, I am confident in Hiei and Kuwabara's ability to protect our loved ones while we cannot..."**_ Kurama stopped; Harry was talking again.

"Ok, the way to do this is to picture the thing you fear in a less threatening way, then say the spell its _riddikulus_." He said, "I'll go first." Harry flicked his wand at the shaking crate; sending the crate flying off, a large dark figure emerged. Yusuke felt a wave of cold sweep over him for a moment, heard Kurama's wand move through the air, and a silver fox was suddenly standing between them; the feeling of cold had vanished.

"_Riddikulus!_" Harry cried; the dementor fell over backwards, "Next!" Harry called; he looked slightly pale. Ron stepped forward. The fallen Dementor changed into an enormous spider; which Ron took the legs off of, as usual. Hermione came forward next; Professor McGonagall appeared.

"You've failed everything, you are the worst student Hogwarts has ever had, and are hereby expelled." Hermione forced the boggart to say the opposite. Everyone stepped forward to face their fear (Smith had to try twice); it was Kurama who stepped up first between himself and Yusuke...Harry couldn't help wondering what calm, reserved, Kurama would see...

_CRACK!_

"Hello Kurama...it's been so long." Said a man with sweeping black hair who was wearing a face mask. Kurama had hidden his greatest fear from the boggart, and settled for a much lesser fear instead. Anyone who looked saw a cold and terrifying look in Kurama's eyes.

"_Riddikulus."_ Kurama's voice was just as cold; Karasu was suddenly on the ground, a plant seeming to grow out of his chest. Yusuke began moving forward...What would fearless, reckless, Yusuke see?

"_What the hell's this thing gonna do? Show me something I've never seen? I'm strong enough to handle all my old enemies now, 'cept Naraku...Naraku...Kagome..."_ Yusuke thought as he stepped up, praying he wouldn't see what he had just pictured in his mind.

_CRACK!_

Harry saw something he never expected; Yusuke frozen. Yusuke's wand was extended in a shaking hand as he looked on at the enemy he couldn't fight. The boggart had taken the form of Kagome, lying facedown in a pool of blood, but the boggart went a step further; a loud, insane, laugh filled the room; Naraku's laugh. Kurama was at Yusuke's side, trying to bring him back to his senses. A few more seconds passed...

_"RIDDIKULUS!" _Yusuke yelled at last. Kagome was suddenly standing in front of him; she disappeared with a small wink and a loud crack. Yusuke tossed his wand aside and ran from the room. He reached the grounds within minutes.

"PUU!" He yelled; running through the rain; the spirit beast, in its large form, was flying alongside him, Yusuke's sword in his beak; he jumped on its back, and took off to the east...

"Yusuke didn't come back to the dorm last night." Ron said to Hermione. They were on their way to breakfast the morning after.

"What? Where do you think he went?"

"I dunno, that boggart musta really freaked him...do you think we should say something to him later?"

"I don't know...I want to, but what can we say? That was just horrible."

"Should we...ask Kurama?" Harry suggested; Kurama had been an excellent source whenever they felt like digging on Yusuke (so they thought).

"If we get a chance to...I suppose he's talking to Yusuke at the moment."

When they arrived at the Gryffindor table they saw Kurama sitting alone.

"Yusuke didn't come back to the dorm last night."

"I expected as much."

"What? Where is he?"

"On his way back to Japan, I would imagine. I have already informed Professor Dumbledore that Yusuke is gone." Kurama responded calmly.

"How's he going to get there? He doesn't even have his wand!" Hermione asked; almost shocked that Kurama would let his friend undertake such a long and perilous journey alone.

"Yusuke is...very resourceful, as for the danger involved in such a long trip; you three know what Yusuke is, and what he's capable of. He will be fine." Kurama stated with finality.

Kurama spent lunch with them (which was unusual), as well as dinner. Kurama had always been open with them (sort of), so Harry decided to ask him something a little personal.

"Kurama, who was that man the boggart turned into when you fought it?" Harry asked; Kurama suddenly seemed terrifying again. He took his time answering.

"His name was Karasu. He was an opponent I was forced to face a long time ago." Kurama answered carefully. Harry didn't ask any follow up questions; Kurama said his name _was_ Karasu, as in it no longer applied; if Kurama was forced to face him, and was now talking about him in the past tense, that must mean he was dead, which in turn could only mean one thing: Kurama had killed him. It sounded like a life or death situation, but it was still a little unnerving. Harry avoided asking Kurama personal questions for a while.

It was three in the morning in Japan when Yusuke touched down on his second day (Puu had flown incredibly fast), he was on the grounds of the Higurashi shrine. He ran to the door and started pounding, he hoped Kagome was here and that he just couldn't sense her...Kagome's mom answered; it was obvious that she had just been sleeping.

"Yusuke? What on earth are you doing here, dear?"

"Is Kagome here?" He asked urgently. Kagome's mother could hear it in his voice, this definitely wasn't a social visit. Puu reverted to his smaller form.

"No, she's in the feudal er-" She stopped as Yusuke ran for the well. He slid the door open.

_"I swear to God, Inuyasha, if she's hurt I'm going to kill you."_ Yusuke thought as he jumped through the well and was enveloped by blue light; Puu went with him.

Yusuke jumped out of the well and reached out; he'd always been able to sense her, no matter how far she was from him (except at Hogwarts, where there was too much magic overpowering spirit energy). He found her, she was about two hour's flight from him. Puu transformed and they were off again. Kagome was peacefully asleep, if not a little cold. Yusuke arrived, almost exactly two hours after he'd arrived in the feudal era, he walked the last bit. He found Inuyasha standing guard, it was his shift after all, just before dawn.

"What are you doing' here, punkass?"

"Checking on Kagome." Yusuke said.

"I told you I-you look like shit." Inuyasha finished.

"I could use some water."

"By Kagome's backpack..." Inuyasha said; there were several bottles of water left out for the guards (Miroku and Sango had returned recently). Yusuke looked at Kagome before he drank for a long moment; Kagome was definitely alive and well, he had know that the boggart was just an illusion, but he had to get the image of it out of his head, and the only was he could have done that was by seeing that Kagome really was fine.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Inuyasha asked. Yusuke was still wearing his robe.

"It's a robe, ok? I have to wear it at that damn school." He responded, "I'm gonna level with ya', I need some damn sleep." Yusuke said. He stretched as he took another glance at Kagome; he'd talk to her tomorrow, she shivered; Yusuke took off his robe and put it over her, he would just lay next to the fire. Using Puu as pillow, he fell asleep within seconds; even for him, the lack of sleep had been a physical strain.

Kagome woke only a few hours later. The first thing she noticed was the robe over her, the next was the enormous spirit beast (which she had never seen in this form), after that; Yusuke himself, sleeping peacefully.

"Yusuke?" Kagome said incredulously.

"Let 'em sleep." Inuyasha said to her; offering no explanation, not that he had much of one.

"What is he doing here?" Kagome asked anyway.

"Beats me, he said he was checking on you." Inuyasha replied; shrugging. Kagome knew Yusuke well enough to know that he must have had some trigger, after all, they'd been apart longer than this. She'd get him on his own later to ask him; it would be stupid to try and get the truth from him with everyone else nearby.

Yusuke, it transpired, would not be waking up any time soon, it was well after noon when they finally managed to wake him.

"Mornin'," He said sleepily to Kagome.

"Good afternoon," She corrected him before adding in a whisper, "I need to talk to you later, you shouldn't be here!" Yusuke nodded; he was perfectly at ease now, the relief he felt at Kagome's well being overshadowed the trepidation he would have felt at her retribution for neglecting his duties. Kagome had requested that no one questioned Yusuke's motives for being there.

"When do we eat?" Yusuke asked eagerly. He hadn't eaten since his last dinner at Hogwarts.

"There's some left from lunch." Kagome informed him. Yusuke began shoveling down the food they'd saved for him.

"So...when did you guys get back?" Yusuke asked Miroku and Sango through a mouthful of food.

"Just a few days ago." Miroku said.

"And...?" He pressed, looking for information on Kohaku.

"Kohaku is safe; as soon as we finish the jewel we'll go back to him." Sango informed him.

"Sorry I can't help with that." Yusuke said; it was partially his fault that the jewel had shattered again. There was also the touchy subject of removing the shard from Kohaku's back.

"Its fine...have you been keeping up on your sword training?" Sango asked; looking around for a subject change, it had been her who had taught him at first, when he returned to the present she had requested he find some one more skilled then her to teach him; Hiei hadn't given him much of a choice anyway. Yusuke gave a huge swallow.

"Yeah...I preferred learning from you...you're not a freakin' psycho." He finished eating (it took a while, he was hungry).

"So, where we goin'?"

"We're not movin' today, you slept too damn long." Inuyasha shot at him.

Some time passed; Sango, in keeping with the charade that everything was normal, had addressed Yusuke.

"Would you like to practice?" She asked him; referring to his sword fighting, she was interested in how much he had improved, and she'd worked on her own as well, during the time her and Miroku had searched the slayer village.

"Sure." Yusuke said, he was feeling much more relaxed here in the Feudal Era than at Hogwarts (previous fears included), in a place where he didn't have to pretend demons didn't exist, a place where he could fire off a full-powered Spirit Gun if he'd wanted to, a place with no restraints.

They went just a short way away to practice. Yusuke drew his sword and took his stance. Sango paused briefly before doing the same and smiled slightly.

"Your stance has changed." She noted; it was slightly altered showing some of Hiei's stance in it. She took her own stance. They advanced on each other. Yusuke's style had changed, it still closely resembled Sango's style, but elements of Hiei's were present as well (Sango had a strong suspicion that when Yusuke learned more of his other teacher's style that he would mesh them together flawlessly). They seemed to still be evenly matched. They stopped within half an hour. Yusuke didn't want leave Kagome for too long now that he was back. A few more hours passed, dinner came and went.

"Yusuke, could you come with me please?" Kagome asked; looking down at Yusuke's head in her lap.

"Sure," Yusuke said, he could tell she was about to tell him off for leaving Hogwarts, but decided to get it out of the way. They were well out of earshot (even Inuyasha's) when Kagome spoke again.

"You know, I'd almost forgotten what your hair looks like when it's short." She said; still leading Yusuke down a path. He was caught off guard.

"Yeah...well, you know I don't really like it long." Yusuke said; Kagome stopped right next to a hot spring Yusuke hadn't noticed until just now, "Ohhhh...." He said; when he saw it.

"Don't get your hopes up, you're on guard duty again. You can sit nearby this time but if you turn around you're dead."

"Oh, come on!" Yusuke said; he turned his back on the spring and sat down near the edge. It was a few minutes before Kagome spoke.

"What are you doing here, Yusuke?" Kagome asked.

"Guard duty." Yusuke grumbled.

"You know what I mean. You're supposed to be in England, protecting the school from demons."

"Kurama can handle it on his own for a few days."

"You're avoiding the question."

"I'm just here to check on you."

"...Why?"

"I was worried..."

Kagome was silent; waiting for Yusuke to elaborate, she was about to press him for more when he continued.

"Before we fought Naraku, I started having a....dream. Well...a nightmare. At school I had to fight this thing that showed us our worst fear...I saw something from that nightmare."

They were both silent for a long time; Yusuke still hadn't given her a complete answer.

"What was it?"

"Don't worry about it...it's no big deal." Yusuke said in a strained voice; Kagome could tell that to him this _was_ a big deal to him.

"Yusuke..."

"...It was...you. Dead." Yusuke was glad she couldn't see his face at the moment. "It even had Naraku's laugh...It freaked me out, I had to make sure."

"Naraku is dead, Yusuke, he's not going to hurt anyone." (STILL not implying he's coming back)

"I know."

They returned to camp shortly after.

They began walking to the village the next day. They had been on their way back so Kagome could go home anyway. It was nearly noon when Inuyasha and Yusuke both stopped in their tracks.

"This one is mine," Yusuke said; a wide smile playing over his face. This demon was strong, it would be a slight challenge, and it had been so long since he'd had a good fight.

The demon, having smelled human flesh, had come straight for them. It stumbled into their path; apparently it wasn't too smart, it went straight for Yusuke, who had moved to the front.

"Spirit Gun!" He yelled hitting the demon in the face; it was still standing. Yusuke followed up by jumping and punching the demon in the jaw, and then a kick while still in the air. The demon swiped at him and hit him into a tree. The demon advanced on the rest of the group, believing Yusuke defeated.

"Hey dumbass, don't turn your back in a fight!" The demon turned; Yusuke jumped, drew his sword, and decapitated it. He sighed.

"I was hoping it'd be a little tougher..."

"What'd you expect from a brainless demon like that?" Inuyasha retorted.

Yusuke didn't answer him, it had always been his experience that the stronger demons were the smart ones, maybe that was the trend after the division of worlds...not that Yusuke made the connection.

They made it back to the village by the end of the day, Yusuke spent the night in the Feudal Era again, he was in no rush to return to Hogwarts, and leave Kagome. When the next morning came, however, he had no excuse. They were at the well, saying their goodbyes. The others gave them privacy.

"Yusuke, don't leave the school again, ok?"

"Alright."

"Promise me. I don't want you half killing yourself to come check on me, and you have to think of how dangerous it is for all of them up there, even with Kurama."

"...Fine...I promise..." Yusuke promised, adding in his mind _"Unless I feel like you're in danger, then I'm flyin' back."_

Kagome knew there was no guarantee he would stick to that.

"I hate having to leave so quick." Yusuke went on.

"Any idea when I'll see you again?"

"Christmas probably...I get to come home for a while around there, unless I get put on babysitting duty, but I don't think Dumbledore would do that...not unless there's some huge catastrophe..." Knowing his luck lately, that was exactly what would happen. Kagome smiled; Christmas wasn't _too_ far away.

"Yusuke, do me a favor and stop a few times on the way back to get some sleep, ok? I know you can stay awake for longer then most people, but you might fall off Puu's back."

"I think I can do that." Yusuke said; he would do it for her, besides, Hogwarts could wait. "One thing before I leave..." He kissed her.

"I love you, Yusuke." Kagome said when the kiss broke.

"Love you, too." Yusuke said, flashing her a smirk, "See ya' later."

"Bye, Yusuke." Kagome said; watching him jump down into the well; Puu followed immediately after.

Yusuke arrived on the other side of the well; he had one more thing to take care of before he left. He knocked on the front door of Kagome's house; he didn't want Kagome's mother mad at him, and he really did owe her the apology. Kagome's mom answered the door.

"Hello, Yusuke." She said pleasantly.

"Hey...I'm sorry about almost knocking down your door and waking you up so early...I was just worried." Yusuke said.

"It's alright, I understand. Are you going back to England now?" She asked, she couldn't let him leave again with no preparation; she had noticed the state he was in when he had arrived.

"Yeah..." He said.

"Come in, I don't want you going off again without food." She said with genuine care; Yusuke was as good as a member of the family now. Yusuke stepped inside; he didn't want to slow his depart now that he was no longer with Kagome, but he didn't want to leave without at least a snack on the way, and last time he'd displeased Kagome's mom he'd more than regretted it.

"Make yourself at home, go ahead and wash up, I don't have anything prepared." She told him. He decided to shower quickly; when he got out his clothes were folded and clean (he'd let the hot water run out).

"Thanks; you didn't have to do this, you know." Yusuke said; feeling awkward, he wasn't used to this kind of treatment.

"It was no problem, dear." She said; handing Yusuke a large pack of food, complete with three water bottles. It wouldn't last the entire way, but it would definitely help alot. Yusuke walked out the door; noticing for the first time it was overcast; at least he could use that for cover.

"Thanks again." Yusuke said as goodbye. He and Puu took off into the sky.

The trip took longer going back then it had on the way; Yusuke stopped a few times to sleep and eat. It was late in the morning on Tuesday when Hogwarts came into view (Yusuke had no way of knowing the day); Yusuke, having just woken up a couple hours ago, decided that, depending on the day and time, he would go to class. Not that it held any allure for him, but he didn't want to get in more trouble then he was likely already in; that would be incredibly annoying. He wished he hadn't forgotten his robe in the Feudal Era; it was cold, the ground was covered in snow, and he had nothing more on the a T-shirt and Jeans, not to mention he had no idea where his wand was. He hoped Harry or Kurama had picked it up. He was over the gates (Puu seemed to wince as they went over), and landed in the middle of the grounds, he hadn't seen anyone, of course he missed things. Puu had just transformed back into his smaller form when Yusuke heard a surprised yell of his name.

"Yusuke!" Came Hermione's voice. She, Harry, and Ron were rushing towards him.

"Hey!" He called back, waving unenthusiastically; he was hoping he had landed in the middle of class so he had a good excuse not to go, but these three were heading towards the place that Care of Magical Creatures was held.

"Where were you?" Hermione asked without preamble; even Kurama had seemed slightly worried when Yusuke hadn't returned by the end of the weekend.

"Japan. Can we NOT talk about this?" Yusuke didn't want to talk about this, or, more specifically, the events that had lead to his departure.

"Umm...sure." Harry answered; Hermione had been curious about how Yusuke had been traveling, but that question had just been answered, they would think about Yusuke having a pet none of them had ever seen before later, and he was sure Yusuke didn't want to discuss what he would have seen as a weakness. Yusuke had no idea they'd seen Puu.

"Let's go to class." Yusuke said; he wasn't in the best of moods, he was fairly hungry at the moment, and he hadn't been sleeping exactly _comfortably_ the last few days. They went to class, jabbering on about how Hagrid had come back, and how Dumbledore had excused Yusuke from all his classes and homework.

"Alrigh' you three?" Hagrid asked as the four of them approached, then he added, "And just who might you be?" when he noticed Yusuke; Harry, Ron, and Hermione hadn't mentioned him at all, other events had driven Yusuke from their minds.

"Yusuke Urameshi."

"Never seen yeh before. You new?" Hagrid asked curiously; this boy was definitely foreign.

"Yeah, I'm an exchange student." Yusuke said.

"Blimey, that's never happened before..." Hagrid said; Hagrid didn't realize it, but he was talking to something of a kindred spirit; another half-breed, just one of the halves wasn't the same (okay, so I know Yusuke is technically less than half demon, but just run with it). The rest of the class had shown up, so the conversation was cut off. Maybe it was best; Harry got the sense Yusuke was in a bad mood, and Yusuke tended to be less than polite when in a bad mood. Hagrid started telling them about the creatures they would be studying today; Malfoy decided to interrupt.

"Are you sure they're trained? Only it wouldn't be the first time you've brought something dangerous to class, would it?"

"'Course they are!" Hagrid said, sounding irritated.

"Then what happened to your face?" Malfoy said; he was annoying Yusuke, not that his presence didn't do that anyway. Hagrid was about to retort.

"Mind your own damn business unless you want me to make your face look alot worse." Yusuke said before Hagrid could say anything; shooting a death glare at not just Malfoy, but all the Slytherins, as if daring them to say something back. Malfoy shut up and looked down at the ground. Harry had to suppress a laugh; Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were terrified of Yusuke. Hagrid looked confused. He lead them into the forest. Yusuke seemed to perk up a bit then; it was no secret to Harry, Ron, and Hermione that the forest just happened to be Yusuke's favorite pastimes. They only traveled in for about ten minutes, then Hagrid set the dead cow on the ground.

"They'll be attracted by the smell, but I'll give them a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know its me." Hagrid said before letting out a very strange and loud noise.

And then they appeared, the strange horses not everyone could see.

"Oh, it's these guys!" Yusuke said, stepping forward, moving in closer, he would alot the creatures their meals before petting them, they reminded him strongly of demons, but these were harmless.

"Ok, now who can see 'em?" Hagrid asked, Yusuke raised his hand, as did Harry, Neville, and a Slytherin boy. After many interruptions, Hermione finally got a chance to answer.

"The only people who can see thestrals, are those who have seen death." She answered calmly.

Well, that explained a few things. Yusuke had seen many demons die, and including his and Genkai's death's, he'd seen a fair few amount of humans die, too.

"Hem, hem." Came a fake cough that instantly made Yusuke angry. Umbridge continued making him angry, he desperately wanted an excuse to hurt her, or at least use the scarce amount of snow on the forest floor to lob a snowball at her. Harry was conscious of Yusuke's anger; he hated Umbridge almost as much as Harry did himself. Then, very suddenly, Yusuke's body straightened out.

"Shit! Now??" He murmured; glancing over his shoulder. What was _that_ about?

Yusuke had a decent enough excuse, he scooped up a handful of snow, stepped away from Harry, and took aim.

_SLAM!_

The snowball hit with enough force to knock Umbridge off her feet. She looked in the direction the snowball had come from, the snowball that had interrupted her cruel treatment of Hagrid, but there was no one there, Yusuke had disappeared...

Yusuke rushed to where the demons were, they were making a beeline for the human flesh; Yusuke intercepted them, just fifteen C class, this would be easy.

Harry wondered where Yusuke had gone, but decided Yusuke had just taken off into the forest to distract himself; he must have misheard what Yusuke had said. Even so, he thought he heard Yusuke's voice in the distance; yelling something that sounded like 'Spirit Gun!'

"_Just my imagination."_ Harry thought. Yusuke hadn't returned by the end of class; Hagrid and the three seemed to be the only ones that noticed (Umbridge's severe interrogations had distracted everyone else). Hagrid looked horrified. Harry, Ron, and Hermione hung back for a few minutes to console him.

"This is terrible." Hagrid said in shock, he was only going to his hut to get his crossbow before looking for Yusuke. The thought of ANY student in the forest was frightening to him.

"Yusuke'll be fine, he runs around in there all the time; it's his idea of fun." Ron said.

"Yeah...he's really tough." Tough enough to be immune to weaker curses and take out a group of trolls in a matter of seconds.

"I dunno..." Hagrid still seemed really worried. Harry decided to go with what he believed to be the truth; Hagrid wouldn't hold it against him.

"Trust us...we saw him take out three trolls on his own with his bare hands."

"What???" Hagrid asked; almost completely sidetracked.

"Yeah..."

"One of his ancestors was a giant, he's about as strong as one." Hermione supplied; she wouldn't get into the specifics. Hagrid still looked worried; what was in the forest that would cause him to worry about some one with giant-esque strength? Harry decided to distract Hagrid; he had a new question that he had to ask him.

"Hagrid, are there any creatures that look like a blue phoenix?" He asked.

"Blue phoenix? Not that I know of..."

"Might be able to change into a small blue...er...penguin."

"Never heard o' anything like that. Ya'd have ter ask Professor Dumbledore." Hagrid said; they'd have to rely on Hermione to find something on this topic; Harry was unwilling to ask Dumbledore anything at the moment. They had to leave Hagrid after that or they wouldn't have enough time to eat.

"Why do you think Yusuke took off?"

"Who knows? He was probably just bored. I'm more worried about what that pet of his is."

"I don't know, I haven't ever even heard of a blue phoenix before; there are some that are different shades of red, but blue is about as far off as you can get."

Yusuke joined them then; cutting off that conversation.

"Any of you guys got my wand?" He asked.

"Umm..."

"I didn't see any one grab it."

"Sorry."

And then Kurama had joined them.

"Kurama, you got my wand?"

"Of course." Kurama said; producing it.

"Thank you."

"Lady Kagome is well, I assume?"

"Yeah, she's great, Inuyasha's keepin' her safe for me." Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been cut out of the conversation and walked away; Kurama had hoped for that; there was no one within earshot now.

"You disposed of the demons?"

"Yeah...had to chuck a snowball at Umbridge as a distraction." Yusuke sounded pleased, "What about you? Why didn't you show up?"

"By the time I managed to cause a suitable distraction their energies had disappeared. There were fifteen this time, correct?"

"I think so."

"We shall have to report this to Professor Dumbledore later. Things are beginning to escalate." They went in to join the Gryffindors at lunch then. Malfoy glared murderously at Yusuke as they walked by. Yusuke had embarrassed him, in front of _Hagrid_; the oaf he'd been trying to get fired from day one. He couldn't do _nothing_ about that.

After dinner, Yusuke, Kurama, Hermione, Harry, and Ron were walking through a mostly deserted corridor. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were passing in the opposite direction; they nearly walked past each other without speaking, then , as Malfoy was level with Yusuke, he made what could possibly be the last mistake of his life.

"The next time that muggle bitch of yours shows her face around here, she's dead."

* * *

Hmm...Hagrid's accent was a bit harder than I anticipated, I'll have to go back and read some more of his dialogue. I don't know how long it'll be before the next chapters out, should be quicker than this, but the...situation is as of yet unresolved, and I don't see a resolution on the horizon. I'll try to be quick, but no guarantees, I'm really sorry. I know that's been one of my selling points; being quick to update. Thank you for your patience.


	11. Merry Christmas!

Writer's block, in its most formidable form, can completely derail the schedule for a fic, which was the most prominent reason for the delay. I'm sorry it took so long, this chapter probably isn't my best work, considering I stopped caring about half way through, but it's not my worst work, either. Again, I'm sorry for the delay. By the way, the next couple of chapter are gonna be kinda Kagome heavy, considering events that happen in the Harry Potter universe that are gonna cut her down.

Raine: I think I can have that arranged, sorry for the delay, and thanks for the review!

Reads-way-2-much: But of course he will. Hope you enjoy. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

LeafKnight: Eh hehehe, sorry about that. Glad you enjoyed, here's the severely belated update. Sorry for the delay, and thanks for the review!

Dark Inu Fan: I hate to contradict you, because, according to normal mythology, you're right about phoenix. However, in Harry Potter cannon, they are described as scarlet, and no other colors are mentioned (Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them). And you didn't embarrass me last chapter, besides, my ego could probably use some healthy bruising, as I generally operate under the assumption that I am perfect. Sorry for the delay, and thanks for the review!

Flame: Why, thank you. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

Loretta: Glad you've enjoyed it. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

Hisshou: Glad you like it, and as for the Yusuke/Kagome action, it's getting cut down soon. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

Stebba Stud: Yeah, I would have brought her in, but I screwed myself outta that when I wrote the prequel. As for when Yusuke and Kurama's secret becomes exposed: I have a weakness for dramatic reveals, so there's gonna be some build up. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

Cassy-chan: I'm glad you've enjoyed it. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

* * *

"Let me go, Kurama! I'm not done yet!" Yusuke yelled. Kurama had his whip around both Yusuke's wrists. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were frozen in place.

"Yusuke, you have gone too far already!" Kurama said; an edge in his voice.

"I said let me go! I'm not going to kill him! I'm just going to make him wish I had!" Yusuke said. Harry was still trying to figure out what exactly had happened; he'd barely been able to keep track of Yusuke's movements. Malfoy was on the ground with most of his teeth knocked out, a broken jaw and nose, and a few broken ribs; Crabbe and Goyle were merely unconscious.

"Yusuke, do not force me to incapacitate you." Kurama warned; Yusuke struggled harder. Kurama sighed; Yusuke was extremely capable of breaking his whip. Yusuke's movements slowed; and then ceased. Yusuke collapsed, Kurama had released a concentrated dose of incapacitating pollen in Yusuke's direction (very inconspicuously, hmm, You know, that seems familiar...).

"Where'd that thing come from?" Harry said; indicating the whip.

"What's going to happen to them?" Hermione asked; indicating the four unconscious people on the floor.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ron said; indicating; well, the situation in general.

Kurama decided to answer the questions in the order they were asked.

"This whip is a rose I have enchanted to turn into a whip when I wish to; those four will be fine; Mr. Malfoy threatened Kagome, and that is not something Yusuke takes well, so he used his own manner of diplomacy to resolve the situation..." Kurama said. He had to get some one to help Malfoy soon though; he wasn't sure if Yusuke had given him a concussion or not. And then Dumbledore arrived. His eyes swept over the scene quickly.

"You three, gather Professor Snape and get those four to the hospital wing. Kurama; come with me." He said without looking at Harry. Was Harry the only one that found it odd that Dumbledore used Kurama's nickname? They left to get Snape; Dumbledore (never meeting Harry's eyes) swept out with Kurama as soon as they got back.

"Ugh...what the hell happened?" Said a very disoriented Yusuke; not even sure if he was alone or not. He was aware of being in a bed.

"When Mr. Malfoy foolishly threatened Ms. Kagome you made sure he felt...retribution. I was forced to incapacitate you. I'm actually a little surprised it worked so well; I would have thought you would have a resistance to the pollen." Came Kurama's voice. Yusuke sat up; everything coming back into his head at once.

"What's the damage?" Yusuke asked.

"Nothing terrible; you have been given a week of detention with Professor Snape, I have been given one night with Professor Flitchwick."

"What about Malfoy?"

"He has made a full recovery."

"Damn."

"And Professor Dumbledore felt that your reaction was punishment enough for his course words."

"Like hell it was."

"Yusuke; this can't happen again. _If_ you must assault people in the future then please don't be so brutal. If either of us is expelled then we would be forced to reveal our true identities and purpose here in order to remain. That would be slightly inconvenient."

"HE-"

"I heard amply. Do you honestly believe he would dare to harm her? He was trying to frighten you into non-opposition; I believe." Kurama said; there was a long silence.

"Why am I in the hospital wing?" Yusuke asked eventually. He'd never been in here before, but it wasn't hard to figure out where he was.

"You were unconscious. Unfortunately; you must stay her for the remainder of the night."

"More good news."

"And I just received word from Koenma shortly before you regained consciousness. He has decided to release our files to Professor Dumbledore; including both personal profiles and case reports."

"Anything else?" Yusuke asked; heavily annoyed by just about everything, though the rage had abated.

"Nothing else comes to mind." Kurama said serenely. There was a pause in which Yusuke looked for something to say.

"You said you were surprised about something."

"That you showed no resistance to the spores. If you focus your mind they are completely ineffectual...though I suppose you _were_ slightly preoccupied."

"That's good to know."

"I was also a little surprised that you lashed out at Malfoy like that...I had thought that Kagome had changed you some; calmed you a little."

"Little prick crossed the line."

"Yes; I agree, which is why I did not stop you immediately."

"You didn't mention any fallout from Umbridge. Too bad to talk about?" Yusuke probed. Kurama smirked.

"The Ministry of Magic does not want to cause any unfriendly relations with Japan."

"When do my detentions start?"

"Next week."

"Why Snape?"

"You assaulted his student...and he insisted."

"Why?"

"He's getting suspicious of us since Professor Dumbledore seems to grant us such leniency. I believe he wants to gather information from you."

"Oh, what the hell? You know I'm no good at this. Can't Dumbledore do anything?"

"I don't know why he isn't intervening...he is an...enigmatic individual. He did at least keep you from being expelled."

"...What time is it?"

"Just before curfew. I should leave before Madam Pomfrey tells me to do so. Goodnight Yusuke."

Meanwhile, on the other side of Hogwarts...

"I'm surprised Yusuke wasn't expelled."

"Yeah...even I thought he would be. He really messed Malfoy up. Not that I'm complaining."

"He deserved it; I just wish Yusuke had been here for the Quidditch match, we could have just asked him to handle Malfoy for us."

"Did you two notice that Dumbledore said 'Kurama', and not 'Minamino', or 'Shuichi'?" Hermione interrupted.

"I did." Said Harry and Ron together.

"Don't you find that a bit odd?"

"A little." Harry said.

"Kurama said that him and Yusuke met Dumbledore over the summer. Maybe Kurama told him the nickname then." Ron said.

"Actually, Kurama said that Dumbledore met _Yusuke_ over the summer, and that he let him pick any of his friends to come that he wanted." Hermione said.

"Then maybe Yusuke told him; they had to talk to each other again at some point before Yusuke came to school." Ron replied.

"Maybe." Hermione agreed. That seemed to sum it up for Harry too; _maybe_ his suspicions from earlier _were_ incorrect.

"You know...I've been wondering exactly how Yusuke and Dumbledore met...I don't really see Yusuke hanging out in Dumbledore's crowd, he's too...different."

"That's a good point; considering Yusuke lives in Japan and Dumbledore lives here in England."

"Ugh! This is getting to complicated!" Exclaimed Ron, "Listen, we got enough on our plates right now; can't we leave the Japan theories alone for a while?"

"Maybe...maybe that is a good idea...Yusuke _is_ supposed to be our friend." Hermione admitted. Harry had to agree; Yusuke and Kurama were their friends, and how many times was this that they had spun theories about them? Granted, Kurama 'confirmed' that at least one was true. And what reason could Dumbledore possibly have for calling two Japanese teenagers to Hogwarts? Something seemed off to Harry, but he decided to let it be (for now).

Other than a telling off by a very irate Professor McGonagall, and Malfoy nearly fleeing from potions in terror at seeing Yusuke, nothing interesting happened to Yusuke in the days leading up to his detentions. Snape didn't even speak to him until the third; when he "accidentally" dropped something for the second time that night.

"I wonder...how long would you have been at this school if you were not in so well with the headmaster? Not very long, I daresay."

Yusuke merely shrugged; he knew the answer: the whole year anyway, he was there to do a job, not to learn.

"But why does Dumbledore favor you so much...not even Potter is granted this kind of leniency...even he would have been expelled for inflicting that much damage on another student." Snape said much more to himself than to Yusuke.

Yusuke said nothing. He couldn't risk it.

"Before you even arrived at the school...so violent..." Snape went on.

"If its such a mystery to you," Yusuke finally said, he was annoyed, "then why don't you ask Dumbledore about it instead of trying to weasel it out of me?"

Snape's eyebrows shot up behind his greasy hair; he _had_ asked Dumbledore, and Dumbledore's answer had been almost infuriating.

"_You will know...if we are extremely unlucky and no alternative exist._" Snape remembered. But what did that mean? That was as good as confirmation that something was going on, but what was it, and why couldn't Dumbledore reveal the truth?

Snape said nothing more on the topic for the remainder of Yusuke's detentions. Days passed with no incident (not even demon attacks); until one day before the end of term. Yusuke went to bed early; when Harry had returned from the Dumbledore's Army meeting he had looked like he was in shock, but as Ron seemed on the brink of laughter it couldn't be serious.

Yusuke awoke later to Harry yelling. As soon as he could orient himself he felt it, an inexplicable presence of evil in the room. Seeming to originate from Harry's bed, around which the rest of the dorm was gathered. Neville ran off to get Professor McGonagall.

"What's going on?" Yusuke asked. No one answered. But Yusuke gathered what was going on well enough to know that the evil presence and Harry's current condition weren't a coincidence. (Yusuke is sensing Voldemort through Harry, thought I'd just tell you guys now). Professor McGonagall arrived a few seconds later. After Harry frantically explained what had happened. They went to leave; Yusuke, knowing he would have a reason to regret it later, began to follow.

"You stay here!" Professor McGonagall shot at him.

"Try and stop me." Yusuke said boldly; letting his power flare up just a little (not visibly). A second's pause...

"Hmph!" She moved on. Dumbledore would get rid of him.

They arrived at Dumbledore's office. Kurama was inexplicably there. Harry noticed Dumbledore move a folder off his desk; it was labeled "Ghost Files".

_**"I sensed you moving through the castle and guessed your destination."**_ He thought to Yusuke as Harry launched into his story.

Yusuke was too busy conversing with Kurama telepathically; he didn't even notice what was going on until Dumbledore said.

"Tell Sirius that Arthur Weasley has been injured, and that his children and Harry Potter will be coming to stay with him...and that the others are completely trustworthy."

"Arthur Weasley injured, children and Harry Potter coming to stay, others are trustworthy," repeated one of the portraits.

Moments later, the rest of the Weasley children arrived, looking severely shaken. Dumbledore explained the situation quickly; apparently Umbridge was on her way.

"You will take this portkey, just a finger will do." Dumbledore said, indicating the object on his desk. He then looked directly at Yusuke and Kurama.

"I'm so sorry."

A few seconds later they were gone (not before Yusuke and Kurama felt a spasm of evil from Harry).

"OUT!" Roared a voice Yusuke had heard once before.

"What's going on? Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured-"

"Ask Harry." Said Fred."

"Yeah, I'd like to hear this for myself." Said George.

"It was...I had a sort of vision..." Harry began. Yusuke listened this time. The second everyone stopped talking, and Fred and George had been calmed down, Kurama addressed Yusuke's mind.

"_**Harry changed his story."**_

_**"He did?"**_

_**"Did you listen to him the first time at all?"**_

_**"I was talking to you; it's kinda hard to keep track of stuff outside my head when people are talking to me in it. What'd he change?"**_

_**"In Dumbledore's office he said he saw from behind the snake's eyes."**_

_**"Hell! You think one of Voldemort's demons possessed him or something?"**_

_**"No, no **_**human**_** energy signature's left the castle grounds while since almost midday. At any rate, Hogwarts is very well protected; for a demon to manage to steal a student through super-natural means it would have to be immensely powerful."**_

_**"Any ideas, then?"**_

_**"Several. I wish to share them with Professor Dumbledore first, though, if you don't mind."**_

_**"No problem, I probably wouldn't understand anyway."**_

_**"I assume you felt the evil presence emanating from Harry before we left the castle."**_ Kurama said after a long mental silence.

_**"Yeah, what's up with that?"**_

_**"I am uncertain. I will tell Professor Dumbledore; he may have some insight for us."**_

_**"You're not sure of something? That's new. D'ya think-?"**_ Yusuke DID notice the flames that erupted and left a letter behind.

"It's from your mother." Sirius addressed to the Weasley children. George read the letter out loud.

"Still alive...but that makes it sound like..." He did not finish.

Five minutes later; when no one was looking.

"_**I'll be back soon."**_ Kurama sent to Yusuke. By the time Yusuke looked up, Kurama had already silently left. Harry looked up a few minutes after that; where had Kurama gone? When Harry looked up an hour later, Kurama was seated in the exact same spot, looking as if he hadn't moved.

_**"I've done all I can. The wizard healers kept coming in and cutting me off, forcing me to hide."**_

_**"You went to heal him?"**_

_**"Yes."**_

Yusuke didn't ask why (Kurama had an obvious weakness for dieing parents). Several hours passed before Mrs. Weasley came in.

"He's going to be all right." She said; "He's resting now. We can go see him later."

After they had eaten Mrs. Weasley approached Yusuke.

"Dumbledore told me to tell you he had a room booked for you at the Leaky Cauldron for the Holidays. He also said he will meet you there this afternoon." She said.

Yusuke knew he should have seen this coming.

"Thanks." Yusuke said unenthusiastically. There went the promise he'd made to Kagome.

Later that night; Yusuke and Kurama met with Dumbledore.

"I'm very sorry, Yusuke."

"Yeah, whatever." Yusuke said stiffly.

"To the point;" Kurama said, trying to move the conversation away from that particular topic.

"As you are aware, the situation has changed. I need some one here to make sure Harry doesn't do anything rash, and Harry trust Yusuke more."

Yusuke didn't speak.

"Yusuke and I both felt an evil presence coming from Harry."

"Yes, that would have been Lord Voldemort. He and Harry are linked by the curse that failed. I fear that Lord Voldemort has now become aware of this connection."

"So Harry saw from within the eyes of the snake while his mind was less protected."

"Indeed." A few moments later, in which Dumbledore explained the connection in a little more detail."

"Now then, I wish to speak with Yusuke in private Kurama, if you wouldn't mind." Kurama left.

"First, I would like to apologize once again. I never intended to keep you over the Holidays."

Yusuke remained silent. This wasn't really Dumbledore's fault, but that didn't stop him from being angry at him.

"Second, I have reviewed your file; I take it telling you to run if you ever come across Lord Voldemort would be a wasted warning?"

Yusuke gave a quick nod.

"Very well, but can you at least promise me you won't look for him? He is extraordinarily powerful, and has no sense of the honor that guides you and your teammates."

"Whatever." Yusuke said.

Yusuke and Dumbledore left private parlor. Kurama was waiting just outside for Yusuke; he waited until Dumbledore was gone.

"Yusuke, if you wish for me to stay, then I most certainly will." He offered. Yusuke considered this for a moment.

"Nah, man. Go home and see your mom. I'm sure she misses you." Yusuke said; he didn't say it, but he knew Kurama missed his mother too.

"Thank you." Kurama said; giving a slight bow. He left to contact Botan.

Yusuke went upstairs to sleep some more. He spent most of the next day brooding in his room. It was just before six in the evening that he heard a knock on his door. It was Hermione.

"I'm sorry, but can you come with me?" She asked timidly. They caught a bus to Grimmauld place.

"The others said Harry's been avoiding them since the hospital."

"And? What do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, if I can't get through to him, then I figured you could be a little more _persuasive."_

"Whatever." Yusuke said. He really wasn't in the babysitting mood.

They entered Grimmauld Place and proceeded up to the room Harry was in. Hermione started pounding on the door.

"I know you're in there, will you please come out? I want to talk to you."

"And if you don't then I'm busting down the damn door and dragging your ass out." Harry heard a very angry Yusuke. He opened the door.

"What are you guys doing here?" Harry asked.

"Well...to tell the truth skiing isn't really my thing, so I've come for Christmas."

"...Travel issues, I'm stuck here the whole break." Yusuke invented quickly.

_"No wonder he sounds so mad...he's been talking about going home for ages..."_ Harry thought. They proceeded downstairs into a room where everyone else was waiting.

A short time later, in which Yusuke seriously considered breaking Harry's jaw (he was in a very bad mood)...

"I didn't want anyone to talk to me." Harry said; feeling nettled.

"Well that's a bit stupid of you, considering you don't know anyone else but me that's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels." Ginny piped up a bit angrily. After Ginny hastily went through the symptoms, Yusuke chimed in.

"Yeah...what she said sounds about right." He said, thinking of his fight with Sensui. Harry crammed a sandwich into his mouth.

"Right...can I go now?" Yusuke said.

"Sorry, Yusuke, thanks for coming."

"Right, I'm outta here." He said before leaving. He ran back to the Leaky Cauldron, not having muggle money for the bus. Once back in his room, he lied down, it was a few minutes later when he heard another knock on the door.

"This'd better be good!" Yusuke said to whoever was on the other side of the door. He opened the door.

"Well, I could always leave if you want me to." Said Kagome. Yusuke pulled her inside so fast that she barely noticed the movement. He closed the door. One very quick kiss, and then.

"What are you doing here? I mean I'm not complaining, but-"

"Dumbledore came and got me in person and asked if I wanted to come to England for Christmas since you couldn't come home." Kagome said. Yusuke smiled widely for a second, before his smile fell from guilt.

"Don't you want to spend it with your family...?"

"I've spent plenty of Christmases with them, I think I can go one without them." She said, even though last year she'd been stuck in the Feudal Era; making this two, but Yusuke didn't need to know that. "Anyway, I'm tired, I'm going to bed." She added.

A few days later (Christmas)...(no, they weren't asleep the whole time)

"'Mornin'" Yusuke said. Strangely being awake before Kagome.

"Good morning." Kagome said; suddenly noticing the box Yusuke was holding out.

"Oh, and Merry Christmas."

Kagome smiled at Yusuke before she opened it. It was a beautiful necklace (I know; jewelry, clichéd, but this chapter has been enough of a pain in the ass, so I'm giving almost no thought to the gifts).

"It's wonderful, Yusuke, thank you."

"You really shouldn't give _me_ the credit for that...I had Kurama help me...he's a legendary thief; I figured he'd know if it was good or not."

"I got one for you too." Kagome said. She dug in her backpack for a moment.

"Here."

Yusuke opened it, a wide smile came across his face (like I said, this chapter has been a pain in the ass; if I think of something for her to give him I'll mention it later).

"Thanks." Yusuke said before he hesitated a moment.

"This isn't exactly a present..." He began, before rummaging in his trunk, "but I want you to have this too, I know you're not really 'hands-on' when it comes to fighting, but in case you run out of arrows or something..." He handed her an intricately designed dagger. "It'll make me feel better. I know you're not powerless, but...just take the damn thing." He decided not to mention he'd had Hermione put a few shield charms on the necklace...didn't want to seem overprotective.

"I'm not sure if I should thank you or roll my eyes..."

"I don't care which, please just take it."

"Fine..." Kagome said, inspecting it. "It's actually quite nice, as far as weapons go...where did you get it?"

"Kurama picked it up somewhere, so in the interest of keeping his record clean-ish, lets not ask."

A long while later, Yusuke and Kagome left the inn to wander the streets of London. Midway through their walk, Kagome spoke up.

"You know, I've been thinking...you ever notice how much goes on that we don't know about?" She asked.

"What do ya' mean?"

"Well, think about it, when you died, were you expecting to get to come back? And then start fighting demons?"

"No."

"And did you think I'd end up being involved with demons?"

"Well..in all fairness, I knew there was something weird goin' on, you have way too much spirit energy to be normal."

"You checked that early on?"

"Hiei noticed...he was kinda watching us when we were in the park on our first date, I really hope it was just a coincidence he was there..." Yusuke trailed off before continuing, "Anyway, I just figured it was 'cuz you grew up on the shrine."

"Anyway..." Kagome continued, "I'm just saying, even after all that, with my stuff and yours, I didn't expect there to be _another_ secret world with wizards and witches. Do you think that all this is it?" (I was going to insert a Doctor Who reference in here somewhere, but I couldn't work it in well enough)

"I doubt it, I just hope I don't get thrown into anything else." Yusuke paused; "You were thinking about all that?"

"It helps to tune Inuyasha out sometimes." Kagome said lightly. Yusuke laughed.

"C'mon, let's head back, it's gettin' cold."

"So, you know why Yusuke didn't show up?" Harry asked Hermione; they had just finished Christmas Dinner, and they and Ron were sitting in the boys' bedroom. Yusuke had been invited to Christmas dinner (a suggestion of Dumbledore's that had made a great deal of the order nervous), but he had declined. Hermione had been acting as the messenger. Hermione's blushed slightly.

"He said he wanted 'alone time' with Kagome."

"Oh, she's here?"

"I guess."

"Ever notice how different Yusuke acts around her?"

"You mean like an over-enthusiastic house elf?" Ron interjected.

"Pretty much."

"Yeah...it's a little weird."

"Anyway, I've been thinking, we still don't know much about them. Yusuke and Kurama I mean." Hermione stated.

"Yeah, we really don't...and I _would_ like to know a bit more."

"It doesn't help that Japan's wizards tend to keep to themselves."

"They do?"

"Every country's magical communities have their quirks." Hermione said; shrugging. "I really don't know much about their culture, even the real name of their magic school is supposed to be a secret." Hermione said, as if admitting to some great sin.

"I'm more interested in their past, really." Harry said.

"I've been thinking about asking Kurama about some things. He told me Yusuke saved his life before. And his mom's."

"Really?"

"Yes; 'at the risk of his own well-being'. Which, I'm pretty sure means his life."

"Well, we'll have to wait until Kurama gets back...Yusuke seems like he doesn't like answering questions like that."

"You're right."

"Well, it's getting late, I'm going to bed. Merry Christmas."

"Good Night, Hermione. Merry Christmas."

"You know how sexy you are in the moonlight?"

"It would have been more romantic if you had said beautiful, you know." Kagome informed Yusuke. Yusuke smirked.

"I think it counts that I'm trying."

"It does." She agreed. Yusuke kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas."

* * *

There we go. Again, I apologize to everyone for the delay, writer's block has been a problem for me lately. I kinda wanna start on my other projects; which include numerous oneshots, and at least three other full-fledged stories (two of them Harry Potter crossovers completely unrelated to this, but those will come last). However, I promised myself that I would finish this project before I started anything else, so like I said, it could be a while. On another, unrelated note; I've been thinking of going through and correcting all the spelling and grammar mistakes in Recovering Hearts' earlier chapters, I'm hesitating because I like to keep things the same as when they were put up, but I'm tempted because my spelling is just awful early on, and I wouldn't be changing anything else (I even intend to leave the glaring continuity error between chapters one and two). So, do you think I should go through and do it, it will take no time away from this fic. Please tell me through a review or private message, your input is greatly appreciated.


	12. Careful Wording

My excuse? In all honesty, mostly laziness. My computer blue screened, and it took me months to get it fixed, so I was writing on an old laptop, which, guess what, stopped working. So after I got my main computer fixed I hesitated on retyping this. I honestly couldn't bring myself to do it; which is why this chapter is so late, I didn't want to retype it (again). I ended up cutting some stuff down. I really am sorry, I've kept you all waiting for over six months. I cannot express how sorry I am. I hope you stick with it. I'll do my best to finish the next chapter quickly, I've had a few things floating around in my head for a while that will make it easier on me. Now review responses. (P.S. When computer crashed I lost MS Word which means no spell/grammar check, just a little warning)

**Boris:** Ah..but if I told you I would ruin the surprise; as for the one shots, I couldn't get them written either, I developed a complete aversion to all writing after last chapter, sorry for the delay, and thanks for the review.

**Reads-way-2-much:** All of those questions answered; right now! Ok, not really, some of them are though. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

**Loretta:** Please, it's not that he isn't stupid enough, he's to much of a wuss to try to do anything to Kagome, besides, Kagome would stop Yusuke before he did TOO much damage. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

**Raine:**Thanks for the compliment, sorry for the delay, and thanks for the review!

**Everqueen:** I know, I haven't been able to come up with too much for it though...I'm thinking of doing writing what the detectives were doing during the events of the Stolen Earth (fighting Daleks). Sorry for the delay, and thanks for the review! (By the way, did you catch the End of Time? I got a little teary eyed even...)

**Time on My Hands:** Hmm...I never thought of that. My growth as an author, I mean, I thought I got a little better, but I'm a harsh critic of my stuff, so I can't be trusted with my opinion. Yes, I would have liked to write the fight, but every time I did Malfoy came off way better than he should have...or he died, I just gave up after a while. Thanks for your insight on my early stuff. Sorry for the delay, and thanks for the review!

**Dark Inu Fan:** Ugh, I can't even blame this one on writer's block. Sorry for the delay and tanks for the review!

**Flame:** I've been thinking of a Bleach YYH crossover, but it raises a couple problems. They can't exist in the same universe, and my knowledge of Bleach isn't exactly great; I missed a few chunks of it. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

**Stebba Stud:** Wow...I really dropped the ball on that one. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

**RoseGlass:** I'm glad my story grew on you. I'm sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

**BlueyBlonde:** Glad you like it. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the review!

* * *

One week had passed since the return to Hogwarts, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione had noticed a change in the habits of their foreign friends (mostly Yusuke, as he was around them the most). In the past week Yusuke had left in the middle of Tranfiguration and Divination, and Harry was fairly certain he heard Yusuke stumble into the dormitory around four in the morning; the small puddle of blood next to Yusuke's bed later that morning had been a bit odd as well (a demon having gotten in a lucky shot). Yusuke and Kurama seemed to be talking to each other in Japanese more often as well. Considering that they usually spoke in English, this was another change.

Yusuke and Kurama had noticed other changes. The demons attack squads had increased in numbers, though, thankfully, not in strength. Another change they had noticed was that the demons seemed to be taking their time when moving through the forest. Even Kurama had not come up with a reason why; it simply did not make sense. This was made all the more perplexing by the fact that the demons seemed to know some one would be coming for them. Wouldn't they want to eliminate Dumbledore, or kidnap Harry (or whatever their orders were), quickly and get out of there? Kurama hoped very much that no demons had thought to mention the existence of the Spirit Detectives.

"Is it just me, or is Kurama almost never alone anymore?" Hermione asked. All their attempt to find him in the library had proved futile, and they no idea where else he went when he was on his own. They had only seen him there once lately, and he had been talking with a fellow Ravenclaw at the time.

"Yeah...I haven't seen him if he's not with us lately...do you think he's been running around the forest with Yusuke?"

"I doubt that..."

"Speaking of Yusuke; I think we should ask him instead."

"What? Why?"

"Simple. He's alot easier to find."

"True...but what if he doesn't want to talk?"

"We can still ask Kurama at some point, I mean, what's the worst that'll happen from asking Yusuke?"

"The three of us winding up in St. Mungo's." Responded Ron.

"I say we do it." Harry said; he was fairly certain that the three of them were in no danger. Of course, he was also certain that Yusuke wouldn't tell them anything. He was proved correct in both assumptions that very night. When they finished their homework, Hermione posed the question; and Yusuke's response was expected.

"No," He said flatly, "I...uh...don't like talking about stuff like that. Feel free to bug Kurama about it though." Yusuke said; he was pretty sure Kurama would have a story prepared, or that he would turn them away.

"Alright. We will, thanks."

Later, after Yusuke had gone to bed, and they were almost the last three left in the common room, Hermione brought up the conversation again.

"So we track down Kurama again?" Ron asked.

"Looks like it."

"Then that was entirely pointless earlier."

It was a couple days after that when they managed to find Kurama alone in the library. Maybe they hadn't been paying attention, but Kurama looked exhausted (a trait they had noticed in Yusuke lately as well). Kurama was completely prepared for this, he had been expecting it since before Yusuke had warned him. These three weren't stupid or unobservant, they were bound to notice something sooner or later. He waited for them to speak first.

"Kurama..." Hermione began, "We were just wondering..." she seemed to falter.

"If I could fill you in on some of the things Yusuke and I have done in the past?" He finished kindly, he didn't really want to drag this out. "Yusuke told me you would be asking."

"Oh!"

"What would you like to know?"

"Well, you told me Yusuke saved your life once..."

"Very well, you will need some background information first on Japan first, I think." Kurama said. Hermione' eyes lit up with barely contained curiosity; Harry could imagine why, according to her, information on Japan's magical community's difference from other countries was practically non-existent, except they tended to keep to themselves.

"I believe we have told you about our Headmaster, Koenma?"

"Yes."

"I think it is important to tell you that Koenma Sensei is also a very important political figure, as well as his father." (Professor Koenma just sounds weird to me)

The three nodded, not wanting to derail Kurama by talking.

"I believe that it would be best to start with the story of how Yusuke and Koenma met for the first time. It all starts with Yusuke skipping school; I had yet to meet Yusuke by this point, so I do not know all the details, however, Yusuke ended up pushing a young boy out of the way of an oncoming vehicle; it would have resulted in his death had Koenma not witnessed this and intervened. He used his exceptional skill at healing magic to save Yusuke in turn."

"Some time later, Yusuke met Lady Botan, who works as one of Koenma's assistants. She let it slip that Koenma's vault had been robbed by three thieves. Yusuke set out after them immediately; his way of saying thank you, I suppose..."

Kurama weaved his tale carefully; making everything sound plausible to the wizards, making their enemies sound like dark wizards using a combination of martial arts and dark magic, making normal humans into muggles, turning Demon World into a massive wizard prison that contained dark creatures as well (Kurama was forced to make Maze Castle a separate place), and replacing all the deaths with very near misses. The three listened intently (Hermione gasped loudly when Kurama revealed he'd been a thief).

The three sat in silence, Kurama's story seemed so extraordinary, so unbelievable, but it explained so much. Why they were both such good fighters, why Yusuke was so strong, why the both of them were so quick, just so much. Yet Harry felt something was off; not that he thought Kurama was lying, but like they were missing something essential to each story.

"You're going to have to close your mouth sometime, you know." said an amused Kurama to Hermione; whose jaw had dropped somewhere during the story.

"S-sorry."

"Now, do you have any questions? I believe I covered most things."

"Just one. If you guys are this valuable; why'd two of you get sent here this year?"

"Koenma prefers we don't get involved with these affairs, and has only ever used us when there is no other option. I believe this is his idea of a vacation for us."

"How long did all of this take?"

"Roughly one year; I will admit, the rise in the crime rate was a bit...unsettling."

After some brief questions Harry, Ron, and Hermione left Kurama alone; they would dissect the stories later, when they wouldn't be rubbed his temples; that had been trickier than he had anticipated, but they seemed to have bought it.

Later, in the common room after everyone had gone to bed, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat discussing what they had heard earlier.

"That was...wow." Hermione said; summing it up nicely.

"Yeah, I can't believe Kurama actually stole something...doesn't seem the type." Harry said, then again, thievery from well guarded vaults was more of the type of crime one would expect from some one with a calm and cool demeanor like Kurama. They all fell silent then, none of them wanting to say what they were all thinking. Ron was the first to say it.

"Yusuke and his friends have killed. Alot."

"I know...it didn't sound like they had much of a choice though...I mean, can any of us honestly said we wouldn't have in their situation?" Hermione said hesitantly. They all knew the answer, and they couldn't blame their friends.

The next weekend Yusuke and Kurama received a letter. From Koenma. They immediately dropped their conversation with Harry, Ron, and Hermione (Kurama with a slightly more grace then just stopping talking like Yusuke), and read.

_Yusuke and Kurama,_

_Meet me tonight, at midnight, on the edge of the forest. We've found what's allowing Voldemort to summon demons._

_-Koenma_

"Well, that was...brief." Kurama said in Japanese.

"Yeah..." Responded Yusuke. He was surprised slightly; Koenma didn't contact them often. After excusing themselves, they went to spar.

Later that night Yusuke and Kurama went to meet with Koenma.

"Good evening, Koenma." Kurama said politely.

"What do ya' want? I'm tired." Yusuke said sleepily.

"You're alone?" Koenma looked around; he looked exhausted.

"Yes."

"Hurry up." Yusuke yawned.

"You said you knew how Voldemort was bypassing the barrier."

"Yes, it's actually quite simple. Sensui."

"Sensui what?"

"Well, when he opened the portal to demon world he caused some destabilization."

"You said the portal was sealed."

"It was, but the fabric between worlds was frayed...so to speak. It's taking time to fully mend."

"So the portal's still open?" Yusuke asked; frustrated. Koenma was talking in circles.

"Not exactly, demons can't pass through on their own, Voldemort just happened to try this at the right time, he's taking advantage of the barrier's weakness."

"Then fix it so we can go home" Yusuke said.

"We can't...not without risking further damage. It heals naturally. Without Voldemort's interference it would have been done a few months ago."

"Do you have an estimate on when it will be healed?" Kurama spoke for the first time in a few minutes.

"Mid summer? We're not definite. At any rate you won't have to return next year." Koenma said.

"Wow...convenient." Yusuke said. (That's my flimsy excuse for why they won't be coming back next year).

"Is that all you wanted to speak with us about?"

"Almost." Koenma said. Yusuke groaned in frustration.

"I only wanted to remind you that in my absence you are to follow ALL of Professor Dumbledore's orders." Koenma said, speaking more to Yusuke then to Kurama.

"Yeah...I know."

"Then that is all."

Yusuke immediately left.

"I believe you wanted to speak with me further?" Kurama asked once Yusuke was out of earshot. Koenma had clued him in telepathically a few minutes earlier

"Yes, how is he doing here?"

"Academically, he's keeping up, somewhat," Kurama said, Yusuke had been operating at roughly a third year level, he was only doing well in class because Kurama had been doing a great portion of his homework, "And the occasional visits from Kagome help keep his behavior in line. As far as fitness...both of us have suffered a little, Yusuke more so. Not enough to cause problems, however. He had alot to fall back on after his time in the Feudal era. Emotionally, I believe he's a little homesick, but otherwise fine." Kurama was concise.

"Hmm...I thought he might be more worried about Kagome..."

"He has Hiei keeping an eye on her when she is in the present."

"Hiei agreed to that?" Koenma asked incredulously.

"No, but Yusuke has received three letters from Kagome asking him to tell Hiei to stop following her to school...and essentially everywhere else she goes."

Koenma chuckled.

"What about you?" He asked.

"I'm fine, thank you." Kurama said, he was, after all, almost 300 years old, a few months wasn't much to him. "What about you; you look...overworked."

"Mostly the paperwork from the investigation, in addition to the normal work. It's getting to me. But I'll be ok."

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I do need some sleep." Kurama said.

"Good night, Kurama."

A few weeks passed, and it was time for another Hogsmeade weekend. Yusuke and Kurama would not be going, because Hiei had arrived the day before. So Yusuke would be practicing swordsmanship the entire day, and Kurama would be playing referee. Yusuke and Kurama left to meet Hiei at their normal spot across the lake after breakfast. Ron left for Quidditch practice soon after; he was a bit early, actually. Across the lake...

"Is that all?" Hiei mocked. Having just disarmed Yusuke so ferociously that his sword was sticking in a nearby tree.

"Your last few sessions have shown no improvement. You're better off without the sword. You're hardly better then Kuwabara." Hiei said. He had known Yusuke would top out at some point.

"I have only been using a fraction of my skill, in a real fight you would have been dead several times over. Attack me with your fist, you pathetic excuse for a swordsman." Hiei said, trying to goad Yusuke into a fist fight.

"SHUT UP!" Yusuke yelled, fist glowing brightly. There was a brief second when Kurama contemplated trying to stiop them, but they were _slightly_ deeper into the forest than usual, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all busy today, and trying to stop these two without anything less than near lethal force was really not feasible (they wouldn't kill each other anyway). Meanwhile...

Ron was just across the lake, he couldn't believe he had left so early, he still had half an hour at least. That's when he heard Yusuke's distant voice yelling what sounded to him like 'shut up'. Well, he had time to kill, he always liked watching the sword fights, and it always got good when they started yelling.

He set off towards the usual spot, and kept walking when they weren't there. At first he thought he wasn't looking at anything, then he glimpsed some movement, but what could move that fast? He stopped walking a little over ten meters away, and then he saw them, the movement slowed, and he could see silhouettes, and then Yusuke and Hiei facing each other. Hiei's fist were _on fire!_ And Yusuke's were glowing blue! Then they swept back into there incredibly fast movement again. Nothing, absolutely nothing could move that fast, he had to be dreaming. He looked around for proof of this, but nothing else was unusual, Kurama was watching them, and he was definitely in a familiar part of the forest. They were freaks, all of them! He had to go. He took a step back. Right on to a twig, which cracked.

It happened faster that Ron could process. Suddenly he found plants restraining him, Yusuke and Hiei were on either side of him. Hiei looked even more murderous than usual, Yusuke looked a little surprised, but otherwise normal. Kurama walked up slowly, a slight frown on his features.

"Let me go!" Ron yelled.

"Silence, human!" Hiei ordered; whipping out his katana. Ron's eyes fell on the blade, they were going to kill him, he knew it. And then a thorned whip wrapped around Hiei's blade and pulled it out of its owner's grasp.

"You really shouldn't have seen this..." Kurama stated.

"So...what do we do?" Yusuke asked. He didn't really want have a memory charm done on Ron...he liked him well enough.

"I say we kill him, it would keep him from talking." Hiei said; knowing full well that wasn't going to happen, he was just enjoying scaring Ron. Kurama rolled his eyes.

"Move aside, I'll do the memory charm." Kurama said, seeing the fear receding in Ron's eyes when he said that.

"I really am sorry about this." Kurama said, and then he waved his wand.

Ron was fairly disoriented the rest of the day.

"Well..." Hiei said, "Detective, you have reached your limit as a swordsman, accept that. By human standards your skills are...acceptable." Yusuke retrieved his sword from the tree.

"Wow...that's almost like a compliment coming from you."

"Hn."

Later, at dinner, Harry had just finished telling Hermione about his date, Yusuke, overhearing, was sympathetic. How many times had he unknowingly angered a girl?

"Just be grateful." He said.

"For what?" Harry asked skeptically, and a little forcefully.

"She doesn't like to slap." Yusuke shuddered comically.

"Are you saying Kagome does?" Hermione asked; her being the skeptical one this time.

"Are you kidding? She loves it, when she found out that'd I'd been hiding the fact that I'm part demo-giant from her she went nuts." Yusuke said, almost fondly. Hermione caught the slip, but said nothing.

"Keiko was almost as bad." He expanded.

"You seem to have a talent for picking girls that know how to keep you in line." Hermione said, laughing little.

"What can I say? I love a girl that can kick my ass. Wow...Ron looks like hell." Yusuke finished, spotting Ron coming in. Ron did indeed look like 'hell'. He left for a bath right after dinner.

The next Saturday, the day of the Quidditch match, Yusuke joined in the crowd like everyone else, and was sorely disappointed. He hadn't actually seen a match yet. Yusuke went to bed somewhat earlier than Ron that night, having nothing better to do. When Harry was awoken by Ron snoring later he vaguely noticed that Yusuke was gone again.

The next day, Yusuke arrived late to breakfast, having slept in. He just barely missed Umbridge yelling at Harry, and having not been listening when Harry told the rest of the table about the interview was confused about the increased movement.

"Whasgoinon?" he asked, still a bit tired, one of the demons had ran and he and Kurama had spent over an hour chasing it through the forest.

It didn't take long for someone to get a copy of the quibbler to Yusuke, who smiled broadly while reading it. He was laughing heavily by the end.

"Bet this pissed toady off." He said.

A couple of weeks later, the first day of Divination after Trelawney had been replaced, Yusuke was late to class (having gone to the wrong room first). He had missed the event and hadn't heard the whole story yet, the demon invasions were really cutting into his knowledge of things going on in the castle.

"Hey...wait a sec...don't I know you?" He asked upon seeing Firenze. He had met the centaurs once, they had said only a few words before fleeing, they had a sense of what Yusuke and Kurama were.

"Yes...we have met, please take a seat." Firenze said, he seemed slightly nervous. That struck Harry as odd, considering Firenze had saved him from Voldemort four years ago.

At the end of class Firenze asked Yusuke to wait outside while he spoke to Harry, and to come back in when he was done, Yusuke obeyed, more out of lack of anything better to do than anything else.

"Later." Yusuke said on his way back into the classroom. Harry caught a few words of Firenze's before the door closed.

"You are not what you appear to be."

Yusuke didn't show up for his next class. Firenze had _known_ he was a part demon, how was he supposed to explain that without blowing his cover. He had no choice; the centaurs had _seen_ them killing demons. He gave the best half truth he could, that the demons were there because they had followed him, and that he was doing his best to protect the school from his mess. Firenze agreed to keep his silence. At dinner, after Yusuke had left, the three started talking.

"Firenze acted nervous around Yusuke." Harry stated, "Don't you think that's a little weird, I mean, he's the one that helped me in the forest way back in first year."

"It is," Hermione said, "Actually, there are a few other things I've noticed...remember a couple weeks ago when Yusuke was telling us about how much Kagome slapped him?"

"Yeah..." Harry said slowly

"Well, he slipped, he almost said something else instead of giant, and, some of the things him and Kurama have been saying to each other in Japanese don't add up."

"How do you know?"

"I've been studying Japanese...and non-magical Japan." Hermione said; she had had to ask her parents to buy and send her a few books.

"What have they been saying then?"

"I'm almost sure I caught the word Spirit World, and a few other things like that."

"Are we suspicious of them again _already_?" Asked Ron, sounding slightly exasperated.

The following weekend brought a pleasant surprise for Yusuke. Kagome was back.

"Oh hell yes!" Yusuke said when she approached him at breakfast.

"Hey. She said, sitting down between Yusuke and Kurama.

"I'm surprised you're back already...not that I'm complaining." Yusuke added.

"Dumbledore thought it would be a good idea."

"I'm surprised you got to come though, Umbridge went stupid rule-happy."

Kurama spoke now.

"I am not certain she's particularly aware of Kagome's visits. Even if she was; there is absolutely no rule stating that students cannot have approved visitors."

Yusuke spent a great deal of the weekend away from most other people in the castle, including Kurama (though, obviously, not Kagome).

"You know, you got lucky," Kagome said just before leaving on Sunday evening, "Koenma was considering sending Genkai up here."

"How do you know?" Yusuke asked.

"She told me."

"You've been talking to her?"

"Yes, she's been great on giving me tips on keeping you in line when you're more difficult."

"That little old bit-" Yusuke was cut off by Kagome's lips, which were quite suddenly on his.

"Lucky for you I prefer my methods." She said after they broke apart.

"Be nicer to her Yusuke, she really does care about you." Kagome said.

"You didn't go through that training...I still have nightmares." Yusuke said. Kagome giggled.

"I'll see you later. I love you."

"Love you too." Yusuke sighed. Well, at least they'd gotten through the weekend without a demon attack.

* * *

Sorry, it's a bit short too. I had to cut it off there though, next chapter has some big things happening in it. I'll try and be quick, though I think you've probably realized not to trust my quickness anymore.


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